Pisces
by Aoi Nikko
Summary: A gift for reviewers! Riku is an all around troublemaker. Sora is a young merboy willing to bend the rules. What happens? YOU decide! (RikuxSora...maybe...)
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer: _I do not own Kingdom hearts, which is heartbreaking enough. Please do not sue; I have nothing but my yaoi-muse and a couple of socks. Well, you can have the muse…_

Muse: HEY!

Here's my warning. THIS IS A SHONEN-AI. THAT MEANS TWO GUYS ARE GOING TO FALL IN LOVE. PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER IF THIS BOTHERS YOU.

All flames will be used in a Riku and Sora make out in front of a fireplace scene for the entertainment of yaoi obsessed fangirls. You have been warned.

Riku: WHEN can I shout the disclaimer?

Sora: Calm down, geez.

Riku: Shut up, or I glomp you.

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NOTE: (Please Read) This fic is a gift to all reviewers. You can leave requests for what you want to see happen in the fic and I will do my best to put them all in. However, YOU MUST REVIEW. I will ignore requests without reviews. You must tell me what you liked or didn't like or both. People who have reviewed my other fics have priority. This fic is just my thank you for helping me write better.

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Pisces

A Kingdom Hearts Underwater Alternate Universe Shonen-ai tale

Chapter One: Meet and Greet

The soft, lazy currents of an unknown tropical sea was suddenly disturbed by the rambunctious antics of two adolescent merboys, both shooting through the azure depths, fighting over a strange round object that was not normally seen in those parts.

The two merboys are what the denizens of the sea call Dorsalbacks, on account that they all have a small dorsal fin on the back of their tails, level with their hips. Dorsalbacks are friendly, playful merfolk, swift of fin, clever and brave. Though well liked, they have a tendency to be nomadic, never staying in one place very long. They travel in small packs of four to six members, swimming long distances and stopping momentarily in cool and deep waters. However, while there are young to be raised, they habit warm tropical seas like the one they were in. They stay there till the pups reach an adolescent age and then move on, starting the cycle over again. When the pups reach adulthood, they have pups of their own and start the cycle all over again.

The two Dorsalback merboys continued to chase each other through the tranquil waters, playing with their strange toy by hitting it with their powerful tails and chasing after it, trying to get to it before the other could. 

"Hey, it's my turn! You had it all day!" A cinnamon brown haired merboy frowned, eyes a deeper blue then the sea narrowing in frustration. His bottom lip came out in a slight pout that betrayed his age.

"Yeah, well who found it?" Said the merboy withholding the toy. His lighter blue eyes sparkled mischievously as he flicked his gray-blue tail to keep just out of the other Dorsalback pup's reach. 

"Who actually went up and got it?" The other fumed.

"All right, all right, fine. Catch!"

The handsome merboy with the strange toy, rubbed the back of his sandy blonde head sheepishly. He swatted the round object with his powerful dolphin like tail, sending it shooting straight at the other boy. Shocked, the brunette merboy froze, shutting his deep-sea blue eyes as it shot past him, barely missing him.

"Tidus! You almost hit me!" The merboy hissed, going after the toy with a flip of his own fin, which was more blue then gray, unlike Tidus's.

"Ah, sorry about that Sora."

"You can't hit it that far, you know it always tries to go back up to the surface!" The merboy named Sora grumbled, knowing the other boy couldn't hear. He stopped short as Tidus suddenly shot past him, reaching the thing before him. 

"Ha ha! Did you really think I was gonna give it up that easy?"

"Tidus, you-!"

"What 'cha gonna do about it?"

"Well, since you don't want to play fair…" Sora grinned and shot toward Tidus who tried to swim away. Sora was actually a faster swimmer then Tidus and quickly overcame him. Yet, as he reached for the toy, Tidus, being a more agile swimmer twisted away and swam off in another direction. Sora gave chase, the two spitting threats and barbs at each other, completely absorbed in their play and completely unaware that an amused pair of aqua eyes was following their every move. 

"Gotcha!" Sora cried, grabbing a hold of Tidus's arm. In a last ditch attempt to keep the toy away from Sora, Tidus whacked it again with his tail, sending it hurtling into a nearby coral reef. Sora glared at a shamefaced Tidus.

"Uh, oops."

"You had better hope I can get it out of there." Sora growled, shaking his head of spiky brown hair. "This wouldn't have happened if you had only let me have my turn." Sora sighed as he heard Tidus's timid laugh. He reached into the reef, hoping that a crab or anything that would bite wasn't inside. Coming across nothing, he reached his arm in deeper.

"Looking for this?"

Sora jerked back, or rather he tried to, his hand had somehow gotten stuck in the reef. He tugged harder as another merboy slid from the reef out into the open with a lazy flip of his black and white fin. Tidus gave a quiet squeak, recognizing the merboy as a Slaptail, and they had a rather bad reputation as rule breakers and all around troublemakers. No one really conspired with the Slaptails. While they were playful like Dorsalbacks, they were overly competitive and rude, taking advantage of the fact that they were the strongest of all the merfolk. Luckily they were easy to spot with their black and white, killer whale-like tails.

"Well, well, well…" The aqua-eyed stranger said amused. "What's a couple of Dorsalback pups doing out here…with a humans toy?"

"Pup? Who're you calling a pup? You don't look much older then us!" Sora hissed, bristling at the insult and frustrated at being unable to pull his hand out.

"Sora…" Tidus said warningly, eyeing the Slaptail warily.

"Well, _Sora,_ I bet you I am older then you." The Slaptail moved over closer to Sora, the toy tucked under is arm. He grinned as Sora suddenly redoubled his efforts to free himself. Tidus swam a little closer to help his friend, but after a glance from the Slaptail, he backed away quickly. He glanced worriedly at his friend, caught between wanting to get help and staying to protect his friend. Sora caught his dilemma, and decided to make the decision for him. 

"Tidus, go get help!"

"But-!"

"GO!"

"Now, now, that really isn't all that necessary…" The Slaptail said, amused. He reached into the hole that Sora's arm was trapped in and pulled it free. "You shouldn't reach into small holes, pup. I mean, this ball couldn't have possibly have fit in there. You're not too bright, are you?"

"You shut up!" Sora hissed. "How do you know what that thing is, anyway?"

"I listen to the human pups play. I pick up on things." The Slaptail thumped the ball into Sora's chest. "I also picked up on the fact that good little Dorsalbacks don't go to the surface near shore or steal human toys."

"What do you know?!" Tidus piped up, finding his courage. "We found that just floating on the surface, far from the shore!"

"Come on, Tidus, we don't have to explain anything to him. Let's go."

"Hey, wait, I didn't mean anything by that, really." The aqua-eyed merboy swam around to stop Sora. "I was just curious, that's all."

"Why?" Sora glared distrustfully at the other merboy.

"I want to play too. I've been curious about those things. They look fun."

Sora looked at Tidus. Tidus looked back at Sora. They both looked at the Slaptail, who grinned charmingly at them both. 

"Well…alright." Sora said grudgingly. "I guess it's only fair since you got my hand out, uh…"

"Name's Riku. Nice to meet you Sora, Tidus." He chuckled at them. 

"What?" Tidus huffed, growing annoyed.

"Well, it's just that I'm glad you two are such a pair of rebels. No one in this area will come near me."

"Gee, I wonder why." Tidus muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Well, uh, Slaptails are…uh…" Sora said, trying to find polite words to say to his savior.

"Yeah, I know what you all think." Riku sighed. "We're not that bad. We just don't think we should live in fear. It's those Razorfins you gotta look out for."

The two merboys shivered at the name. Razorbacks will attack and eat anything, even other merfolk. They were evil and sneaky, and willing to pull the most underhanded tricks to get what they wanted. They were also the fastest swimmers in the seas, but they tired easily. Clever as they were, they were also cowards not willing to injure themselves if their prey decided to fight back. The Dorsalbacks were considered their greatest enemies. They tolerated the Slaptails, mostly because they were so strong, and anyone else was just food. With their sharp teeth and claws, it was easy to make them such.

"Don't worry…" Riku said with a strange smile. "I won't let any near you."

"Huh?"

"So, are we playing or what? I can show you a game the humans play if you aren't scared of the surface."

"Um…" Tidus said softly, clearly nervous.

"I'm not scared. As long as it's out of sight of land." Sora countered.

"Okay, mister goody." Riku grinned, silver hair floating into his eyes as he circled Sora.

Sora rounded on Riku. "Listen, those are the rules! No merperson is allowed within sight of land! After the kidnappings-"

"Okay, Okay, I was kidding! You're a regular tiger fish aren't you?" Riku laughed. "I like that. I think I'll make you my rival."

At Sora's raised eyebrow, Riku laughed and pulled the ball away from Sora. He swam upwards a little and waved at them.

"Oi, are you coming?"

Sora swam off without hesitation, but Tidus heaved a great sigh.

"It's also against the rules to be up at the surface for a long period of time." Tidus muttered. "Sora, you're almost as bad as a Slaptail…" With another sigh, Tidus followed after his friend, to keep him out of too much trouble if anything.

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Author's Nonsense:

Hello! Welcome to the first chapter of Pisces! This is a fic that you, (and by YOU I mean reviewers) decide what is in store for our hapless heroes. 

Yes, you heard right, YOU get to decide.

How do you do this? If you haven't read the note at the beginning of the fic, here it is again.

"This fic is a gift to all reviewers. You can leave requests for what you want to see happen in the fic and I will do my best to put them all in. However, YOU MUST REVIEW. I will ignore requests without reviews. You must tell me what you liked or didn't like or both. People who have reviewed my other fics have priority. This fic is just my thank you for helping me write better."

Got it? Great! Now get out there and review so you can leave a request. Without requests, there can be no second chapter. Did you miss the chance to participate? No problem! I will be doing more of gifts like these, all with a title that is taken from the Zodiac. The next one will be Aries, I think. Dunno yet. Well, I said my piece. I had better get back to "When All Things Come Back To You" 

Ciao!


	2. Tropical Rescue

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of Kingdom Hearts. What else needs to be said, eh?

Author: Okay Riku, go ahead and shout the warning.

Riku: **This is a Shonen-ai. Sora and me will be playing kissy poo and stuff. If you don't like stuff like this, you should not be reading the SECOND chapter of this fic, much less the first.**

Sora: Kissy poo?

Author: I think he missed some pills.

Sound of someone being horribly thrashed.

Riku: dusts his hands Welcome to Chapter two of Pisces! Enjoy yourselves!

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NOTE: (Please Read) This fic is a gift to all reviewers. You can leave requests for what you want to see happen in the fic and I will do my best to put them all in. However, YOU MUST REVIEW. I will ignore requests without reviews. You must tell me what you liked or didn't like or both. People who have reviewed my other fics have priority. This fic is just my thank you for helping me write better.

Chapter Two: Tropical Rescue

It was a day like any other day on Destiny Islands, the bright yellow sun was high in the sky and a few playful clouds were scattered about, white and fluffy.

A ways away from the island a small research ship was docked, a teenaged girl sitting on the bow, letting the sea spray her feet. She ran her fingers through her red hair, looking towards the sky with calm, indigo blue eyes.

"Kairi!"

The red haired girl jumped to her feet and ran down below the deck where her father was working. She went over to his desk where he was fiddling the with drawings of a strange sea creature; half of it looked like a man, the other half like a fish. Kairi's father called them Mermaids, even though the only one ever captured was male. Her father had seen one, out in the shallows surrounding the island, a fair distance from land. Since then, he had been obsessed with them, and caught one when Kairi was little. It had been monstrously strong, but Kairi's father has already guessed that they would be, seeing as though they could survive the water pressure of the sea. It was quickly contained and put into a special tank where it was observed daily. Kairi's father, Shu, had managed to learn a bit of the mermaid's language before it died. Shu was distressed about it; he had thought he had taken good care of the creature. He later surmised that it was the small tank that did it and possible isolation. He had had a large enclosure built on the island and set out to catch another one, preferably two or three. He almost caught one later, but in its haste to escape him, it died. Shu then set to work on better trapping methods, stronger nets and a tranquilizing agent that he felt sure would work. He wanted to catch a young one so he could tame it easier. Kairi wanted to help him; she was fascinated by the fact that there were creatures under the sea that sort of looked like humans.

"Yes, papa?" Kairi asked, as she looked over his shoulder at the drawings her father was carefully writing notes on.

"Help me get the nets ready. I picked up some clicking on the underwater radio today. They are back in the area, now is our chance to catch one."

"Great!" Kairi bounded up the stairs ahead of her father, reaching a large metal box attached to the side and pulling out yards upon yards of netting. Her father was busy preparing a large hook that was attached to a crane. It was necessary to pull the mermaid from the sea. They were much stronger then any mere person.

"All set, Kairi?"

"Yeah!" Kairi dragged the heavy nets over to the hook, and her father did all the rest. Kairi did help throw the net over the side, then clapped her hands and squealed with delight. Shu smiled and placed a hand on his daughter's head. She smiled up and him.

"We're gonna do it right this time, aren't we?"

"I sure hope so. If I can catch and tame a young one, I'll get all the funding I need. We'll have a real crew and a real boat, and times won't be as hard. I can send you to the big school on the main island…"

"Aw, dad, I'll just be happy that you get to do what you love." Kairi grinned up at Shu. "As long as I get to help!"

"Of course, sweetie. Of course. I couldn't have done anything if it weren't for my star assistant!"

"I'm your only assistant!" Kairi said, rolling her eyes. "I'll take the first watch, okay? You can take the rowboat and go get something to eat. I'll go when you come back."

"What kind of father would I be if I did that? You take the boat and eat, but bring me back something."

"But papa!"

"No buts. If we caught a mermaid while I was gone, could you get in on the ship alone?" Shu shakes his head. "It has to be this way."

"Well…okay…" Kairi sighed. She left to go get her boat ready. "I'll go get something for us both and we can watch together!"

Shu chuckled as she left. He had raised a wonderful child.

Kairi rowed back as quickly as she could, running past all the kids on the island, ignoring their demands that she play with them. She ran straight home and excitedly asked her mother for some lunch she could share with her father. Her mother laughed and shooed her out of the house so she could make something, and Kairi went out on the top porch to look out at the sea. Her father used it at night to look at the stars, and his telescope was still set up for when he finally came home. He spent almost all his time out at sea; there was little time to stargaze anymore.

The porch faced in a different direction from where the boat was, at a large expanse of sea. Kairi looked through the telescope at the blue waves, grinning at swimming seagulls fishing for dinner. She turned the telescope a little ways to the right.

A silver head poked up from under the waves.

Kairi blinked, staring. No one on the island had hair like that! Besides, it was too far out for it to be a _person_. She watched mystified as it ducked back under the water, and a black and white tail flipping up before following. Kairi rubbed her eyes and looked again. Had she been seeing things? She looked again, but it was gone. Kairi turned to race back into the house. It was a mermaid! She was sure of it! Papa would be so excited to hear the news! She raced out of the house, but her mother called her back.

Shoot. Right. Their lunch.

Kairi ran back into the house and danced around, impatiently waiting for her mother to finish. Once she did, she accepted the basket her mother gave her and shot towards the docks like a ball from a cannon.

She had seen one. She had seen a real live mermaid.

When the silver haired Slaptail was a good distance away, Tidus pulled on Sora's fin to get him to slow down. Sora stopped and looked at his friend.

"Hey, what's up?"

Tidus frowned. "Are you sure about this, Sora? I mean, the guy's a Slaptail! They're all around troublemakers!"

"Its just one game, Tidus. Besides, we _are _supposed to be leaving in a couple of turns. He'll forget all about us by the time we come back."

"Well…"

"It'll be fine, Tidus. We both know the rules and just won't break them. He'll have to do the same or play alone."

"I guess…"

"Don't worry so much. Besides, I wanna know what this game is."

"_That's_ what I don't get. After what happened to your parents, how can you want anything that has to do with Humans?"

Sora didn't reply. Tidus did have a point. Sora's father was caught when Sora was a tiny pup, only seven days old. He was looking for some shells to make a toy out of when he had been caught in a net. He was never heard of again. A year later, Sora's mother was searching for food when she was caught in a net and was killed trying to escape. She had cut herself badly in the escape and some Razorfins caught her afterwards. None of the other Dorsalbacks had been around to help her ward them off, and they ate her. Sora was then raised by the leader of the pack his mother came from, a blonde Dorsalback named Cloud.

Cloud had already been raising an orphaned pup, Tidus. Tidus's parents were Protectors, Dorsalbacks who scouted for possible danger. They were caught and killed by Razorfins, but at least they were not eaten. The community appeared to save them, but it was too late. Cloud took their pup as his own, and when Sora lost his parents, he raised the two pups as brothers, treating them as if they were his own. They became close, and were never seen without the other.

Sora finally shrugged. "It's just a new game to me. That's all."

Tidus rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

"Hey, what are you two _doing_?"

Tidus and Sora looked up. Riku was swimming back down toward them. "Having second thoughts, are we?"

"N-no! I…um…" Tidus stammered. Sora only rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." Sora said, imitating Tidus's tone perfectly. Tidus winced at the hidden barb. Fine, he could play too. He nudged Sora.

"Hey, betcha I jump higher then you."

"No way!" Sora shook his head. He was extremely competitive sometimes, and Tidus knew it. Sora looked over at Riku. "Mind being a judge?"

"No." Riku grinned. "It'll be fun seeing what you Dorsalbacks call a 'jump'."

Sora and Tidus both exchanged secret grins. Oh, he would find out all right. Sora and Tidus prided themselves on their jumping ability. All Dorsalbacks did. Slaptails could jump, sure, but no merperson could compare to a happy adolescent Dorsalback. Riku headed back up to the surface while the two Dorsalbacks backed away a bit.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm set."

"Then _go_!" They both shot towards the surface at a suicidal speed, Sora pulling ahead just as they broke the surface of the water with an agile leap.

Riku who was floating there with an amused expression on his handsome face, felt his jaw drop in awe as Sora soared high above his head, arms tucked tightly against his sides, his expression one of excited bliss. A little more then a half a foot below him, Tidus looked slightly disappointed at losing. Seawater sparkled like tiny diamonds in the sunlight as the two plummeted back down to the water's depths in a graceful arc, splashing Riku thoroughly when they hit the surface. They came back shortly, both of them grinning like idiots.

"I win!" Sora laughed. "We didn't even need a judge!"

"I can't believe how much higher you got!" Tidus said, sobering quickly. "Are you training or something?"

"Nah, you're just slacking."

"Hey-!"

"That _certainly_ was impressive!" Riku said sliding in between the two merboys, interrupting their playful banter. Tidus huffed, and crossed his arms.

"Of course." He says, eying Riku as if he was an idiot. "All Dorsalbacks can jump like that."

Riku ignored him, focusing only on Sora. "So, how _far_ can you jump?"

"Oh, pretty far." Sora said in his best 'and-you-better-believe-it' voice.

"Well, let's see. I challenge you!"

"Uh guys…" Tidus sighed.

"You're on!" Sora grinned. "Tidus, you be the judge!"

"But-!" Unfortunately, they had both dived back down, and his protests went unheard. Tidus frowned. "What about the game?" He looked over at the small, white round thing Riku had called a 'ball'. Oh well, might as well wait. Mergames were more fun then Human games anyway.

Probably.

A short second later, Sora and Riku shot from the water's surface, both trying to stay as close to the water as possible. The jump wasn't as graceful looking as the first, but it was still impressive. When they finally came back down, they both rounded on Tidus immediately, demanding the results. Grudgingly, Tidus's said that Riku has won, and Sora blinked in shock, while Riku smiled smugly. Tidus was really getting very sick of that smile.

"So, not just Dorsalbacks can jump, hmm?"

"Yeah, yeah. It'll be different next migration." Sora sniffed. "I'll be better then you then."

Riku swam over to the ball and grabbed it as Tidus bobbed under the water. "If you say so." Riku tossed it into the air and caught it. "Well, ready to learn that game I promised you I'd teach?" Tidus surfaced up in front of Sora, eyes wide with excitement.

"What's up?" Sora asked his adopted brother.

"Duck under and see!" Tidus exclaimed.

"What? Why?" Riku looked confused. Sora's brow scrunched, but he ducked his head back under the water like his brother told him to. The others did the same, and they barely heard a distant, but high pitched sound.

"It's a scream!" Riku exclaimed. Tidus and Sora looked at each other, and then shot off toward the source of the sound.

"Hey! Wait!" Riku shouted, wide eyed. "That Dorsalback has good hearing…" He muttered to himself. Shaking his head, he followed after them, hoping he didn't lose them.

"Hurry, Kairi!"

Kairi blinked as she climbed back aboard her father's research boat, carrying their lunch with her. She dropped the pail on the deck and raced over to her father who was pulling at the nets that had somehow slipped off the hook.

"What happened?"

"Darn things are getting smarter or something. Twisted around so much that the net slipped right off the hook!" Shu struggled with the net. "Go lower the hook so I can get the net reattached!"

"Yes, papa!" Kairi ran over to the controls for the hook and lowered it enough to get the net on, ran over and handed it to her father. He slipped the net back on, looking back at her long enough to yell,

"Now go get the slack out! Hurry before we lose it!"

Kairi scrambled back over to the controls, making the net raise up slowly. She kept looking at her father, eyes wide with excitement.

"Alright, steady…just like that. Keep it up while I get the tranquilizer ready."

Kairi concentrated on her task while her father ran to the other side of the boat, to make sure the small tank was filled with enough water to accommodate a mermaid. Kairi strained to see the water from where she was; she wanted to see the mermaid. Was it the same one she had seen before, the pretty one with silver hair, or was this one different? Kairi could hardly wait to see what they had caught.

Below the waves, a young Tropi struggled against the nets, crying loudly. Tropies are merfolk with the tail of a tropical fish. The tail can have two or three colors and a wide variety of patterns. They are graceful swimmers, but not very fast or powerful. They can, however produce a poison that is deadly to predators. Friendly but shy, they often hid in reefs or seaweed forests in large schools.

The Tropi struggled harder, her beautiful gold and pale yellow fins working tirelessly to keep herself from going upward. She cried even louder, desperately hoping someone would hear.

"Please! Someone! I don't want them to take me! Please!"

As she cried, a brown haired Dorsalback came toward her with a powerful speed. He grabbed part of the net and tugged back on it. A second later another Dorsalback grabbed the net also, adding his strength to the first.

"Don't worry!" said the first Dorsalback, "We'll get you out!" The second Dorsalback began calling with loud clicking noises, trying to get help.

"Oh, oh, please! Don't let them get me! I don't want to die!"

"We won't let them!" He pulled back on the net with all his strength, but the net continued to go upwards. Out of the corner of his eye he saw two other merfolk swim over to help, but he was a little too busy to make out who they were.

"Hey, Dorsalback pups! Keep that net tight! Tropi pup, stay as close to the Dorsalbacks as possible!" A commanding voice said.

"What-?"

"It's okay, Sora." Riku swam behind the brunette, reaching around him to help pull the net back. A second later, the net fell slack and they all tumbled back, Sora falling against Riku's chest. The Slaptail's arm went around him immediately.

"Whoa there." He said softly, almost tenderly. Sora blushed a bit, but didn't even try to pull free. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Um, thanks again…"

"I guess it didn't occur to you to catch me too, huh?" Came Tidus's angry voice.

"No, not really." Riku said, grinning back at him and tightening his hold on Sora.

"What happened?" Sora asked, blushing deeper. He pulled free from Riku and picked at the piece of net that was still floating in the water.

"This happened." A long, sharp, silver object was thrust a few inches from Sora's face. Swallowing gingerly, Sora's eyes traveled up the length of the object till the met with the eyes of _another_ Slaptail. A fully-grown Slaptail. Sora backed away cautiously. Riku laughed and swam past the intimidated Dorsalback.

"It's alright, Sora. This is Leon. He's the leader of the pack I swim with. He's okay, he's just like me."

"Then I'm really scared." Tidus muttered. Sora had to fight with himself to keep from nodding.

"You should be." Leon glared. Riku swam between them.

"Hey, hey! Right now we should worry about the pup we just saved, right?"

"Whatever." Leon turned away; the strange object laying over one shoulder.

"Right." Riku turned to the Tropi with the gold and pale yellow tail and helped untangle her from the rest of the nets. "Hey, are you alright?"

Finally freed from the netting, the Tropi made a beeline for Sora, tackling him with a hug that would crush lesser men.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're my hero! That was so brave of you to come to my rescue like that! You are soooo wonderful!"

"Uh, uh…I really didn't do that much…really!" Sora stammered.

"That's right. It was Tidus over there that heard you and called for help." Riku said in a tight voice.

"Oh?" The Tropi blinked at Sora and slowly turned her head to look at Tidus. Her eyes got huge and she tackled Tidus, the poor Dorsalback struggling in vain to get away. Riku laughed loudly, holding his stomach and pointing at the spectacle. Though he was also amused, Sora decided to rescue his adopted brother.

"So, um, what's your name?" He asked, trying to get her attention.

The Tropi released Tidus and swam back over; her fins were like silk banners under the water. She danced around him, giggling, playing with her long brown hair.

"My name's Selphie. Pleased to meet you…Sora right? And the cute Dorsalback over there is Tidus, and the silver haired grouch is Riku. She turned and swam over to Leon, circling him while he tried to ignore her. "_You_ must be Leon, leader of Tsunami, the pack of Slaptails who are against the humans!"

"There is a pack like that?" Sora exclaims. "I never heard of it!"

"Me either." Tidus shrugs.

"You're probably too young to have heard of us." Leon sniffed.

"I am not!" Sora fumed. "I've seen fourteen cycles, thank you."

"Still a pup." Leon sniffed.

"Hey, you Dorsalbacks never hang around long enough to hear stuff like this. You guys are all out of the loop." Riku laughed, swimming backwards. "You should quit with the migration and find one area like the rest of the mer population."

"We could use you!" Selphie piped up. "You guys would be great protecting these waters."

"My parents tried to do that…" Sora sighed, "But my father just got caught by humans and my mother was killed looking for him. So-"

"Wait a minute. You're _that_ Sora? Gou and Iki's pup?"

Sora's head snapped up at the mention of his parent's name. "You knew my parents?"

"Knew them? Your father, Gou, swam with my pack. He was a great lookout. No one could jump as high as he could…"

"Sora seems to have inherited that from him, then." Riku said waving a hand. "I saw it myself. Cleared my head by more then a tail."

"Wow, more then a whole tail?" Selphie cried. "I would like to see that!"

Leon turned his gaze on Sora, thoughtfully appraising the boy. "I looked for you after your mother died…I was going to raise you myself. Your father was a good friend of mine."

"No, the leader of the community I was born into took me in as his son. We left on migration immediately, even though I wasn't really old enough."

"Well, neither was I." Tidus yawned. "He had taken me in first."

Sora rolled his eyes. That didn't matter; they were still the same age. Leon swam over to Sora, towering over him, still giving him that piercing gaze. Sora gulped and backed away a little.

"You know, Sora, you could always decide not to go on migration. I could train you to fight against the humans. This'll be your chance to avenge them." Selphie clapped her hands.

"That's a great idea! Then I could see you all the time!"

"Hey!" Tidus cried out, moving in front of Sora. "Stop putting ideas into Sora's head! He's not old enough to even think about leaving the community. Our leader would look for him and drag him along by the fins if necessary."

"…That's right, I would."

All eyes turned to a blonde Dorsalback floating with his arms crossed, looking just as imposing as Leon.

"Cloud." Leon said frostily.

"Leon." Cloud said just as cold. He swam over and put a hand on both Sora and Tidus's shoulders. "Just what stupidity are you filling these two pup's heads with?"

Sora looked from Leon to Cloud and back to Leon. "You two know each other?" Cloud silenced Sora with a firm shake.

"Well?"

"Just offering Sora a chance to swim with my pack like his father did. He was supposed to, you know. But you ran off with him right after his mother died."

"Sora is a Dorsalback, not a Slaptail. He should be raised by his community."

"My pack _was_ his community!"

"His father's community, maybe, but not his his! Sora was born in my community, and that is where he belongs!" Cloud growled. "Isn't one…no, _two_ Dorsalback deaths enough for you? No more, Leon. I won't let you take any more Dorsalback lives."

"How can you ignore what is going on? The humans are a real threat, Cloud! We should all be fighting them! Sora should also have the chance-"

"He is only fourteen cycles old!" Cloud bellowed. "He's not even an adult yet! Stay away from him, Leon, and keep those in your pack away from him, or I swear by all I hold sacred I will make you sorry you even looked in his direction." Cloud pushed Sora and Tidus ahead of him, following after them closely. Riku watched them go, and then looked back at Leon. Selphie had had her hands pressed to her mouth in shock at the whole conversation. She blinked rapidly, looking in the direction that the Dorsalbacks had gone.

"Wow…that was a little intense…" She said softly.

"I have to agree. That didn't go too well, Leon." Riku said, crossing his arms.

"He'll be back this way." Leon shrugged, turning to swim away. "If he's Gou's son, he'll be back this way. Come on, we had better get this little Tropi home."

Riku grinned and followed him, glancing back at where the Dorsalbacks had left. '_That's good, cause that means I don't have to go kidnap him or anything necessary like that._'

Aloud, he only said, "I guess we had better."

__

Author's Nonsense:

Dolphins have amazing hearing. They can hear things from incredible distances, and Dorsalbacks can too!

This is just like Morse code! If you know it, you can actually talk to Dorsalbacks! Er, if they were real, that is.

Wow, where am I going with this? I mean, really? Whew. THIS is what happens when you guys don't send me your requests with your reviews! GRRR! Okay, I'm over it. Anywho, I think I will make things easier for you all. I will leave stuff for you to choose. How about that? Whichever gets the most votes will happen, K? Here we go!

A) Sora goes back to find Leon (this will lead to more backstory and more characters!)

B) Sora runs into Riku again (this will lead to more flirting…but then, so will all the other choices)

C) Cloud ties Sora up to some kelp to keep him away from Leon (don't you dare choose this one!)

D) Sora gets caught by the humans (wow, that would so totally suck! It will also cut the length of the fic)

Okay, hop to it! You can still leave requests if you like. BUT YOU MUST REVIEW.

Okay, I am going to get back to work. Mind you I have one other update, the fourth chapter of "When All Things Come Back To You". I also fixed up the first three chapters of this fic, so you don't mind if I take a break for a month, do you?

EH?!? You DO?!? SLAVEDRIVERS!

Okay, back to work then…

Ciao! flips over a shell


	3. Daisuki

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Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and am not making any money off of this fic. Can I get to the fun part now?

Riku: No. I have to do the warning first. ** This story is a Shonen-ai.** ** That means that there is love between two boys in this story. Don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple, kids.**

Sora: My turn, my turn! Clears throat. Okay! The choice that won the vote is-

Riku: DON'T TELL THEM YOU FOOL!

Sora: Eh, eh?

Riku: Let them read and see. Now, kind author, you may start the fun stuff.

Author: Thank you. Welcome to chapter three of Pisces! This fic is a gift for all reviewers! You can choose what happens in the fic, BUT YOU MUST REVIEW. I will IGNORE choices without reviews. Enough out of me. Enjoy everyone!

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Chapter Three:

Daisuki

The silent swim home to the Dorsalback community was an unbearable one for the two rambunctious merboys, and the fact that they were dying to ask questions and _couldn't_ made it even worse. They knew better then to say anything until they were back at their temporary home, however. Cloud was a good and patient father, but he could be terribly strict at times, and had a zero tolerance policy on disobedience and foolishness.

Cloud herded them over to the rest of the community, who upon noticing their return swam over to make sure they were all right. Dorsalbacks being very social creatures, handle every task together, especially child rearing. Children were precious to the Dorsalbacks, not only did they ensure the survival of their species, but they eased stress with their laughter and play and brought a better grade of health to everyone. Since Sora and Tidus were the only pups in the community to survive the previous migration, they were doubly treasured.

While Sora and Tidus were busy being looked over by the rest of the community, Cloud swam off to brood. Sora noticed him and broke through the other Dorsalbacks to join him.

"Hey, Cloud…" Sora started.

"Hey, Sora." Cloud said, settling down on a flat rock. Sora swam around his head.

"You know that Leon guy?"

Cloud frowned, his eyes darkening. "Yes I know him. He's nothing but an upstart, him and his whole pack. You had better stay away from him, Sora. Slaptails are trouble, all of them."

"But…the one I met seemed nice. He helped me and everything." Sora sat down next to Cloud who looked at him sideways.

"He helped you, huh?"

"Yeah, his name's Riku. I got my hand stuck in a reef and he pulled it out. He wanted to play with me n' Tidus, and he even followed the rules."

"Of course he did. He would have to if he wanted to play." Cloud snorted. "Listen to me, Sora. That whole pack is a bunch of fools. What they are doing may seem heroic and all, especially to a young Dorsalback like you, but the fact is they look for trouble and don't care when things go wrong. Don't forget, Leon is responsible for the deaths of both your parents."

"But what exactly happened?" Sora asked.

Cloud got off the rock and turned away. "I don't know if I'm ready to tell you yet…"

"C'mon, Cloud, I'm not a pup anymore!"

"Yes you _are_, Sora. I know you don't like hearing it, but you are still only fourteen cycles, and that is nowhere near an adult. We'll have this conversation at another time."

"But-!"

"I _said_ that we'd have this conversation at another time, _Sora_." Cloud repeated, and Sora knew better then to pursue the matter any further. After giving Cloud's back an angry glare he swam away from everyone to pout in private.

Tidus watched them both, shaking his head and sighing. The two of them were so much alike; they might as well be father and son by blood. They would both sulk in private for a time, then act as though nothing had happened because neither one of them would admit to being wrong, and would sprain a fin before even _thinking_ about apologizing. Tidus decided to give Sora some time and then suggest they go looking for that toy they were playing with earlier. That would cheer him up and make him forget all about Slaptails and bending rules.

Above the waves in a small boat, two awestruck humans stared at the remains of their net.

"Hmm…" Shu mused to himself.

"How did that happen?!" Kairi cried out as she stared at the destroyed netting that hung from the hook in complete disbelief.

"Looks like they are smarter then I originally gave them credit for. They may even be civilized…" Shu said softly. He inspected the net closely, looking at the ends.

"What? That's impossible! I thought you said they were primitive, only a little smarter then animals!" Kairi walked over to the rail to gaze down at the water below.

"We don't know everything about them yet, honey." Shu said patiently. "I must have been incorrect in my previous assessment. They are capable of creating tools; they had to have used a knife or something like it to cut the net, because the edges aren't jagged. That's evidence of human-like intelligence."

"Well, we'll have to catch one to make sure, right papa?"

"Oh, of course. The problem is that knife. If they can cut through netting, I'm going to have to devise a new capture method."

"How about if we use a metal net? We can make one easy."

Shu shook his head. "That may chafe the mermaid, and cause damage. We'll need a different trap, something they can't cut through…maybe a cage of some kind…" Shu trailed off, going down below to begin his thought process. Kairi looked down at the water with a sigh.

"I was so looking forward to seeing one up close…"

Back beneath the waves, a rather disgruntled brunette merboy thrashed his tail about, disturbing the sediment on the seafloor. After a while, this bored him and he swam away from the dirt cloud he had created to swim on his back, looking up at the surface.

"Dumb Cloud, always treating me like a pup. It's the whole community too, always babying me and not letting me go anywhere…" That last part wasn't necessarily true, both he and Tidus had a large range in which to play and explore, but he wanted something other then Cloud to be mad at and complain about.

As an adolescent Dorsalback, Sora believed he was old enough to be treated like an adult. To the community, however, they were just pups who didn't have to be watched all the time. They were merely old enough to know better. In short, it was the most frustrating time of a merperson's life. To a Dorsalback pup as stubborn as Sora, not only was it pure torture, but it also lead to him getting into lots of trouble. You see, sulking lead to thinking, and thinking leads to ideas, and Sora's ideas always lead to trouble.

Always.

"_I bet Leon did something to make Cloud mad, and that's why he wants me to stay away from him._" Sora thought. There was no way to know for sure unless he asked Leon. Cloud sure as hell wasn't going to-

Wait a minute…

"I'll ask Leon!" Sora exclaimed, slamming a fist into his palm. Oh, but wait, Cloud had said to stay away from him, and going to look for the leader of Tsunami was not obeying orders. Sora draped himself over a rock to think. He couldn't go to look for Riku either; Cloud had said to stay away from that entire pack. Sora buried his face into his arms, face heating up at the thought of Riku. The Slaptail seemed to really like to be around him. He either ignored or was rude to Tidus…and what was that about him making Sora a rival? It made him feel all mixed up inside, especially when Riku had caught him after they fell backwards when Leon cut that net the Tropi was caught in…

Hey, that was it! He'd go and see if Selphie was okay! There was a good chance that Leon and his pack were still in the area. If he just happened to run into Leon, he wasn't disobeying Cloud. He'd ask his question and be back before his surrogate father even noticed he was gone. Sora pushed off of the rock and after looking around carefully to make sure no one was watching him; he swam off into the direction he last saw Selphie in.

Near the area Sora was swimming off to, the infamous pack of Slaptails called Tsunami was busy patrolling the area. They were split up into teams of two for safety, and Leon and Riku were in one team. This was actually more like training for Riku who was still a pup himself, no matter how adult he tried to act. He still had quite a few cycles before Leon would actually let him do anything really dangerous. He'd never tell Riku that, however. The pup was a Slaptail through and through, he would only rebel and Leon would have a hard time making sure he reached adulthood. Slaptail pups were a nuisance, but they were a necessary evil. Without them, the Slaptails would all die out. Dorsalbacks were more docile, even Gou, who had been raised as a Slaptail. He had always followed orders but, if the rules were in the way of something he wanted, he found a way to go around them. Kind of like the pup he had fathered.

"So that was the famous Cloud, huh?"

Leon looked at Riku who swam ahead of him a little. The silver haired Slaptail pup grinned at him.

"More like the idiot Cloud." Leon snorted. "Shouldn't you be paying attention to your surroundings? We _are _on patrol."

"There's nothing around." Riku said, rolling his eyes. Leon frowned at him.

"Your age is showing, Riku."

That made Riku angry. He glared at Leon, but began taking patrol a little more serious. They swam in silence for a while until Leon was satisfied the area was safe. Once they were completely done, Riku again tried to extract info out of Leon.

"So are the rumors true? About what happened between you two?"

Leon growled in annoyance. "Don't you have something more important to do? Why don't you go and play or something?"

"This is more interesting. I want to know what happened. That Dorsalback really seems to hate you, Leon." Riku smirked as Leon winced at his words. "You don't seem too fond of him either, which is strange considering that the rumor is that you-"

"Riku, that's enough! When will you learn to mind your own business?"

"When you learn to stop keeping secrets." Came the simple reply. Leon glared at the grinning Riku. This had to stop. He had to get the focus off him and Cloud somehow. What better way then to focus on Riku? He seemed to have taken a liking to Gou's pup…what was his name again…Sora?

"What about you?" Leon asked softly.

"What _about_ me?" Riku asked rolling his eyes.

"You seem to really like that Dorsalback pup, Sora." Leon saw a faint blush creep into Riku's cheeks. Bingo. "I think you just see Gou in him. You were pretty close to him when you were just a little pup."

Riku looked down at his fin. "Yeah, so?"

"You aren't normally nice to other Merfolk, not even members of your own pack. Imagine my surprise when your personality takes a complete turn when you are in the company of that Dorsalback."

Riku turned away. "Oh, please. I was just bored, that's all. There are hardly any merfolk my age to play with, and those that are can't keep up."

"Really. I think you like him, maybe enough to be your Daisuki."

Riku's face went totally red at that, and he was lucky he was faced away from Leon. "You're an idiot." He muttered before swimming away. He heard Leon snort after him, and that made him put an extra flip in his tail as he left.

Leon sighed in relief. He had succeeded in running Riku off. Leon straightened to swim away, running a hand through his long brown hair. It wasn't as though he didn't want to tell anyone what happened between Cloud and himself; it was more like he couldn't. It was too painful, mostly because it was entirely his fault. All because he had to be a stubborn shellfish. Hell, he still _was_ a stubborn shellfish, putting on that act when Cloud came by to get his pups. Leon shook his head. He didn't want to think about it. Not now.

Something poking around in the kelp forest nearby caught his eye. He blinked as he saw a spiky brown head pull out and begin carefully swimming around the perimeter, like he was looking for something he wasn't supposed to. Leon heard himself chuckle.

"Well, well, that didn't take long." He mused. He swam over stealthily, folding his arms and fixating his face into an expressionless stare. He saw the small merboy flinch and look over his shoulder.

"Eep!" said the young Dorsalback.

"What are you doing here?" Leon demanded.

"I…I was looking for Selphie…er, the Tropi we saved earlier…"

"You mean _I _saved." Leon narrowed his eyes.

"Hey! Me, Tidus and Riku _did_ have something to do with it too!"

"Right…" Leon said, his expression never changing. "Why were you looking for Selphie, Sora?"

The Dorsalback blinked as if surprised to hear his name. Leon sighed, it hadn't been _that _long. Did the pup really expect him to forget that quickly?

"Well…I just wanted to make sure she was okay, y'know, since I had to leave so quickly…"

"Is that the truth?" Leon pressed; he knew that couldn't be it. He swam over closer, trying to intimidate the young Dorsalback.

"What does it matter to you?" Sora said challengingly, surprising the older merman. "I don't have to answer to you."

Oh, the pup had ridged flippers didn't he? Leon felt his lips twitch. "No, but what if I brought you back to Cloud, huh?" He watched Sora pale. Better, much better. That Dorsalback meekness always won out in the end. "Now answer me."

"Yes, it's the truth. Why else would I be here?" Sora said in a voice that neither of them believed.

"Uh huh, sure. I knew you'd be back this way, actually. Wasn't expecting you so soon, but..." Leon trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

"How did you know that?" Sora asked, genuinely curious.

"Not only are you Gou's son, but it's natural for a pup to want to know about his father, and Cloud couldn't have much to tell you."

"So you _did _know my father well?"

"Of course I did. He was raised in my pack. We were like brothers."

"How did _that_ happen?" Sora asked, swimming around Leon's head, an annoying habit of his. "And…what was he like?"

"You." Leon glared at the circling Dorsalback. "He was exactly like you, overly energetic and curious; asking too many questions. He always got into trouble, but at least he knew how to get out of it."

"How would you know if he was like me or not? You just met me." Sora said, continuing to circle Leon's head.

Leon reached out to grab the end of Sora's tail, the area that was just above his flippers and yanked him out of the circle he was swimming in. "Your mannerisms are alike. Gou used to do the exact same thing to people. I _know_ it's not a Dorsalback thing. Just sit down and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Sora plopped down right where he was, giving Leon his full attention. "So, how did my father get into your pack?"

Leon closed his eyes. "I was just a pup myself, about three cycles or so… The pack leader came across a lost little Dorsalback pup. It was Gou. He was only two cycles older then I was, but if we had left him alone he would have died. You Dorsalbacks don't train your young to survive at a young age like we do."

"Wait, you mean he left his community? No one came to look for him?" Sora exclaimed wide-eyed. That sort of thing was unheard of. Dorsalbacks love their offspring too much to do something like that.

Leon shook his head. "I don't know. They probably did, considering how clingy Dorsalbacks are. They never did find him. He ended up a member of our pack from then on in. The two of us became close friends, even though he was rather annoying." Leon gave an unexpected chuckle. "He was behind everything I did, no matter how stupid. Tsunami was his idea, though."

Sora's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, when we started we hunted Razorfins, chased them out of this part of the sea. I think it was then he ran into Iki."

"Yeah, I heard that much." Sora forgot he was supposed to be sitting and floated upwards, hands gesturing excitedly. "My mom was minding her own business when a Razorfin came at her from nowhere! My dad was in the area and came to her rescue, but mom and the rest of the community ended up saving him!"

"Yeah, Gou tended to forget he wasn't a Slaptail and couldn't fight like one." Leon's face didn't show it, but one could tell he was amused by his voice. "It was really embarrassing for him."

"Mom was impressed by him anyway though, and as Cloud says, the rest his history."

"Cloud always left out a lot of information." Leon said bitterly.

"He did say there was a big argument over which group I was going to stay. Neither one of my parents was willing to leave their community." Sora looked over at Leon, suddenly somber. "Is…is that why you two hate each other?"

"No, that isn't it. We had already hated each other before you came along."

Shit. He shouldn't have said that. It wouldn't have hurt him to let Sora believe that. Leon looked over at the Dorsalback pup that closely resembled his late best friend. No, he couldn't let Sora think that. He'd only blame himself, and try to fix things. That is, if he is as much like Gou as he thought.

"So then, what was it that happened?"

Leon sighed. "It's none of your business, pup."

"I'm not a pup!" Sora hissed, angry. "Why does everyone treat me like one?"

Ah, so he was like that, eh? Another trait he inherited from his late father. Leon stared down at the bristling Dorsalback pup. Well, if he played this right, he might get a chance to train Sora, finish raising him, like Gou would have wanted.

"Probably because you're a Dorsalback. They tend to keep their young as pups as long as possible. Sorry, but that's how it is."

"Yeah, that's true. It just isn't fair! I can't go anywhere, no one tells me anything, everyone smothers me if I so much as nick a fin-!"

"Wow, tuff break kid." Leon interrupted. "We don't do that to our pups. In fact, they receive survival training as soon as they can swim alright on their own."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. We have to, considering we don't pick up and leave for migration. We have to teach them how to protect their home."

"That's so unfair…" Sora flopped back down, fin folded and drawn up toward his chest.

"Well, that's how it is, pup. It's not like you could just leave your community, right?"

Sora fell silent, thinking. Leon nodded at him.

"To do that, you would need someone to take you in, wouldn't you?" Leon turned and began to swim away. "Think about it, Sora."

He was then gone, leaving Sora to his now troubled thoughts. Leave the community? This wasn't just bending the rules; this was blatant and downright disobedience. Not to mention the fact that that was something he really didn't want to do. No matter how much he complained about them, he loved everyone in his community. They were his family. Yes, he lost his parents, but Cloud became his father, and though no one took the role of his mother, he had Tidus as a brother. Was he going to give that up to chase a shadow of his past? Sora turned to swim away, mind trying to make sense of the situation. He was so wrapped up in his thought that he swam right into Riku.

Arms went around him, steadying him. "You should watch where you're going, Sora."

Sora looked up at the silver haired Slaptail and grinned sheepishly. "Uh, heh, sorry."

Riku smirked at him. "I saw you talking to Leon. What's up?"

"Oh, I was just asking about my father and Cloud…y'know, just wanted to know what was going on since Cloud won't tell me."

"Lemmie guess…Leon isn't saying anything either."

Sora shook his head. "He did tell me a lot about my father. As for Cloud, he kinda avoided the question."

"Well, that's no surprise. No one really knows. There are some rumors, but I don't know how reliable they are."

"Rumors don't do me any good." Sora sighs. "Though it would be nice to know why he wants me away from your pack…besides the obvious reasons." He grins at Riku.

"Well, he's right. You should stay away from us. We are a bunch of unscrupulous rule breakers, always looking to corrupt innocent little Dorsalbacks." Riku grinned wickedly at Sora who blushed hotly. He pushed Riku back, trying to play it off.

"Yeah, I know that's true. Look at what you did to my father."

"Well, like father like son…" Riku rolled over on his back. "You are very much like him, Sora."

Sora blinked. "You knew him too?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah. He liked pups. He would play with Yuffie and me all the time. I was his favorite, though. I think it was because Leon favored her over me back then. I was pretty weak…no one thought I would make it. Gou made sure I did."

"My father did that, huh?"

"Yeah, I decided I would become stronger then any other merperson to pay him back. After he disappeared, I got stronger just to look for him." Riku shook his head. "Before I could, though, everyone had given up because we had learned the truth. It was just after your mother had died."

"Oh..." Sora said looking sad.

"Everyone was busy arguing over who would get to raise Gou's pup. I was angry and didn't understand. I still wanted to look for Gou. The only thing that was going on was Cloud and Leon arguing. It was a shame really. They used to be such good friends. I think Leon wanted Cloud to be his Daisuki at some point."

"What? Whoa! Seriously?" Sora said, astounded. "It's hard to believe…they don't seem to fond on each other right now…"

"Well, I think Leon still feels that way, but he hurt Cloud real bad. I think it was Cloud's fault, although Leon is set on blaming himself. I hear from other Slaptails that Cloud did something real stupid and got mad at Leon for telling."

"That sounds pup-ish." Sora said rolling his eyes.

"It could be deeper then that. No one really knows." Riku shrugs. "Leon was dumb too though. If I was him, I wouldn't have let Cloud get away from me."

"You wouldn't huh? What would you have done?" Sora snorted. If there was one thing he had learned about Riku, it was that he had a big ego.

Riku grinned and swam around Sora, still on his back. "I would have made it hard to resist me." He cast Sora a devilish grin. "Daisuki's are not something taken lightly, once chosen, a merperson rarely chooses again. It's a bond that goes deeper then friendship, rivalry, even family. The only thing that could hope to come close is perhaps a mate, but even then the bond between two Daisuki's can be infinitely stronger. It's not even something that can be developed over time, it's like a summer storm; it just hits without warning and without mercy. To choose someone to be that close to and let them go is stupid."

Sora looked at Riku, a fine blush settled over his features. "W-well…yeah, I've heard, but…"

"You don't know for sure, do you? It's okay, you're still young."

"You can't talk!" Sora hissed. Riku hushed him with a finger on his lips, and Sora's eyes went wide with surprise.

"I'm guessing you don't have one by the way you're acting, right?"

"Well…no…" Sora pulls back from Riku. "I haven't been around anyone my age except for Tidus…but you do right? I mean you talk like you do."

"I'm pretty sure I do. I don't know his feelings, though."

"Oh it's a guy, huh?" Sora asked, cocking his head to the side. This was normal. Daisuki's were not like mates, they could be the same sex. They could even be two different species of Merperson, and often were. Daisuki's were the ultimate friend. It was impossible for any merperson to be closer to another then that.

"Yes, he's a Dorsalback."

"Like me, huh? He must come from a different community then. I didn't know another community even stopped here. Unless it's Tidus…but you ignore him, so it can't be him."

"No other community does stop here. It's not Tidus either." Riku made a face. "This merperson's not _like_ you either." Riku smiled.

"He _is_ you."

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Author's Nonsense:

Ridged Flippers- That's the Slaptail way of saying someone is very brave. It's the equivalent of us saying 'He's got balls'

Well, here you are, chapter three. Did you like it? You are the ones who chose it. As you could tell, choices A and B tied. For those of you who want to know, Daisuki means 'I like you' in Japanese. Like as in 'like like'. Of course to the merfolk, it has a slightly different meaning. It's a feel good kind of label.

Are you guys reading my mind? I did intend on having Sephiroth in the story, but you asked for him before I was ready to bring him in. I will still bring him in when I am ready, so :P Oh, and NO, Ariel is NOT going to be in this story. This story does not take place in Atlantica, but somewhere else. If you notice, the rules for this ocean are different then the rules for Atlantica. I try to avoid using the Disney characters, since they don't like it.

Okay, here are your choices:

A) RAZORFIN ATTACK!!! (This leads to more Cloud/Leon backstory)

B) Kairi goes Scuba diving, runs into a merperson (I get to choose who!)

C) Sora and Riku have a 'moment' (You can find out more on their puphood.)

D) Family Feud (Or should I say 'Community/Pack' feud? More of Leon and Cloud but no backstory)

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People who just leave a choice and do not actually review (Review = Telling me what you like or do not like)** will be ignored. **I was nice and accepted them last time, but I will not this time. This is a 'Thank-you' for REVIEWERS. No review, no choice. This happened a bit too much for my liking. So, get out there and review! The more reviews I get, the faster I write! While you are waiting, read my other fic, "When All Things Come Back To You". It has been updated as well. Well, I gotta get back to work!

Ciao!


	4. Hostile Waters

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Beginning Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I own no part of Kingdom Hearts. Don't you know this by now?

Sora: Hey everyone! It's my turn to do the warning for this fic! **This is a shonen-ai. That means two guys are going to fall in love. If this is something you would rather not read, do us all a favor and leave. Thank you.** How was that?

Aoi Nikko: Not bad. To all Here's chapter four of Pisces! This chapter is dedicated to my friend, Dragonslayer496! Enjoy, this is for you, girl!

Chapter four:

Hostile Waters

Kairi strolled along the beach near her home, letting the tide come in over her feet. Carrying her shoes in her hands so they wouldn't get wet, she heaves a deep sigh as she reminisces over her big disappointment over losing the mermaid.

"Hey! Kairi!"

Kairi glanced up to see a tanned, redheaded boy walk up to her, a big grin on his face. She groans inwardly; she didn't feel like speaking to the always happy, energetic boy, even if he _was_ the adopted son of her uncle.

"…Hey, Wakka."

"Why d'you look so down? The merpeople hunting not going so well?" Everyone knew that Kairi and her father were hunting mermaids. They were a local legend and many of the natives didn't like it being exploited the way it was and caused them grief. Wakka's father, Kairi's uncle, was one of those causing the most pain.

"Oh, leave me alone. I don't feel like being bothered today." Kairi glowered at Wakka who held up his hands in mock surrender, his grin never leaving his face.

"Hey, hey, settle down, I don' mean no harm or nothin'. I wanna know, I'm on your side, ya?"

Kairi lowered her head. She wasn't being fair, Wakka had always been supportive in his own annoying way, it _was_ unfair of her to treat him the way she was. "I know, Wakka."

"Hey, what happened? You look like you ate some eel that didn' agree with you."

"We had one, Wakka. We had a mermaid and it got away! Cut through the net and everything. Papa is at home trying to come up with a new way to trap them."

"Aw, that's too bad. Looks like they're smarter then you thought, ya?"

"That's what papa thinks. I don't see how, I mean they live in the sea with no way to make fire or use electricity. They can't possibly be as civilized as we are." Kairi kicked at the wet sand at her feet. Wakka looked at her for a long time.

"Y'know, having fire and 'lectricity doesn't make us civilized, Kairi."

Kairi gazed over at Wakka. "What _are_ you talking about?"

"My da, he say dat 'even if you give a barbarian fire, he's still a barbarian, he can just burn things now.' The way we think makes us civilized, not what we have."

"Well, cutting up a net seems pretty barbaric to me." Kairi huffed.

"I don't know about dat. Say it was your father in the net. What would you do?" Wakka smiled gently at Kairi. "You would cut the net to free him, ya?"

"Well…yes…" Kairi said slowly, looking at her feet in confusion. She suddenly snapped her head up. "This conversation is stupid! They're only animals, Wakka!"

Wakka fell silent, looking toward the ocean. "Ya." He said, a bit sadly. "Only animals." He turned and walked away.

"Huh? Wha…Wakka, where are you going?"

"I f'got my da wanted me to help him with somethin'. I'll catch you later, ya?"

Kairi stared on in confusion as Wakka jogged off. Boys were so weird.

Far ahead of her, Wakka was thinking almost the same thing. He kept going down to a small house just off the beach where he and the two men who raised him resided. Wakka ran into the domicile, only to be stopped by a ruff-looking blonde.

"Hey! Take your fuckin' shoes off, you brat! You know Auron don't like shoes in here!"

"Ya, I know, I know. Sorry, Cid." Wakka pulled his sandals off and tossed them by the door. "So where _is_ mommy, by the way?"

"You better hope he never fuckin' hears you call him that." Cid grumbled, turning to go into the kitchen. "He's in town, he had to do a class today." Auron owned a famous sword school on the main island. He was there most of the time, unlike Cid who spent his time in the house either making weapons, fixing boats and repairing nets. He was a successful fisherman, one who never spent long on the ocean. In fact, Cid would go out on his little boat and come back almost immediately, his nets filled with fish. Everyone on the island thought he was a genius. Only Wakka and Auron knew the truth.

"What? I thought he was free today?"

"He was called in at the last minute. Why are you in here, kid? Is it going to rain or something?"

"Nah, nothin' like dat. I saw Kairi today. She seemed pretty down, ya?"

"Did she? Good. Her and her fuckin' uppity scientist father need a little suffering from time to time. Think they know more about the sea then those of us who make our living on it."

"Don't be like dat. Your sister married him." Wakka said pointedly.

"My sister never made a good decision in her damned life!" Cid bellowed, pounding the wall with an angry fist. Wakka only rolled his eyes. Cid talked that way about everyone he cared about, save maybe Auron. However, that was only because Auron could kick his ass.

"Anyway." Wakka said loudly, trying to finish talking. "I guess they almost caught a merperson, but the net was 'cut'."

"Oh it was cut, huh?" Cid chuckled, mood lighting immediately. "Ain't that sweet. I suppose I'll end up with some work later on then." He laughed, long and hard. "Wait'll I tell Auron. He'll get a laugh outta this too!"

"He'll get a chuckle at least." Wakka said, making a face. Auron didn't laugh much, and if he did, anyone who heard him met with an unfortunate end. He was very different from Cid who was always irate and cursed all the time. It was strange they got along as well as they did, and even stranger that Wakka didn't become a cynical, foul mouthed, tetchy bastard, despite the fact that Wakka had only been with them a couple years now.

Cid pulled a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket, putting it between his lips while he fished around his other pocket for his lighter.

"Hey, Auron won't like it if you smoke in here, Cid."

"I fuckin' know that! Damned know it all!" Cid stormed out of the house and Wakka followed him, unable to contain the smug look on his face. It was clear who ruled the household, and Cid was very upset about it. Then again, Cid was upset at the whole world. Wakka sat on the railing on the porch, looking down at the wooden floorboards while Cid stared out at the sea, smoking his cigarette.

"Hey, Cid?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Why do you let them do it? Steal the weapons you make, I mean. You even fix them up and set them where they can find it again. I don't get it, ya?"

"Well, the first time it happened, I was pretty damned mad." Cid took a long drag on his cigarette. "I wasn't having any luck catching fish, and the weapons I made were the only things helping to put food on the table. But when I went out again a few days later, not only did I find my weapon, but a net of fish was tied to the rock it was left on."

"Really?" Wakka said, incredulous.

"I thought it was pretty damned weird. I didn't know who had taken it then. At the time I didn't care, they were doing me a favor and all they wanted was to borrow that weapon from time to time."

"So you kind of have an unspoken agreement with them, huh? When did you know who it was?"

"I watched for 'em." Cid said simply. "I watched one night when it was stolen. Damned half fish thing came right up to the small smithy I have right on the water and crawled inside. Took that gun blade and went back to the sea. I was pretty amazed. When I started leaving the thing closer to the water, and the net of fish got bigger."

"And…dat's why you have me spy on Kairi and her dad?"

"Gotta protect my interests, kid." Cid said finishing his cigarette. "Now you get your butt in there and clean the damn kitchen before Auron gets home."

Wakka groaned. "Ya, alright."

__

He is_ you…_

Sora backed away at the Slaptail's admission. "Me? Your Daisuki?" Sora shakes his head slowly. "No, that's…a bad idea, Riku."

"Too late. It's _you_ I choose to be my Daisuki. It's okay if you don't feel the same way right now, you will in time." Riku cast Sora a wicked grin, and the Dorsalback's already nervous stomach grew even worse. "So don't even think of choosing some other merperson, because you belong to me."

"Don't _I_ get a say in this?"

"Of course _not_. I'm not about to risk letting the only merperson under the sea that doesn't annoy me on sight swim through my fingers."

Sora shook his head, amazed. Riku sure was possessive, wasn't he? "Wait, wait, this doesn't make sense. I'm a Dorsalback, I migrate you know. As a matter of fact, we're supposed to be leaving in a couple of turns!"

"That's no big deal."

"You don't understand-"

"What? You'll be back, won't you? No big deal." Riku shrugged. Sora's large blue eyes grow sad, a small hint of pain behind the sapphire pools. Sora shook his head again, backing away further.

"This is a bad idea, Riku." He repeated. "You'd do well to forget all about me, and find someone else. It'd be better…if you found someone who could… stay with you…all the time."

"Kelp, Sora, don't be difficult about this-" Riku stopped as Sora continued to back away, then turned and swam quickly away. He stared after the strangely distressed Dorsalback, brow creasing in confusion. What was that all about? He mused over this for a while, before coming to a conclusion.

"He's playing hard to get, how cute. Doesn't he know I'm not patient by now? Oh well, the chase will be fun…for me." Riku started to swim home before getting a better idea. With a mischievous grin he turned, and swam off in the direction Sora had gone.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Cloud's silver-gray fin flicked in an annoyed way as he swam around the Dorsalback's that made up the community where he was leader. He spotted Tidus in the hands of a couple of the older merwomen, in the middle of a grooming.

Dorsalbacks groomed each other often, the act much like a massage. They ran gentle hands, mouths, flippers along each others bodies, according to the closeness of the two Dorsalbacks doing the grooming, making sure muscles were healthy and skin was clean. Signs of disease were also checked for. Though a casual activity, grooming could get downright intimate if the two merpeople were close enough. Tidus's was purely platonic, his shoulders being rubbed down soothingly by one female Dorsalback while another examined his flipper for rot. Cloud looked down at the contented pup with a frown.

"Where did Sora go?" He asked Tidus, who ducked out of the merwomen's grasp to swim over to Cloud.

"I dunno, I haven't seen him." Tidus shrugged.

"Neither have I. He isn't anywhere it seems." Cloud mused. It wasn't like Sora to pass up a grooming. "You two are practically joined at the hip, even when being groomed."

"Maybe he's not done sulking yet." Tidus suggested, grinning. "What did you do to make him mad _this_ time?"

"None of your business, Tidus. Do me a favor and find your brother and bring him back here. I have an announcement for the whole community."

"Aw! But we were going to go exploring again!"

"No. Find him and come right back here, Tidus. I mean it. I have something important to say." Cloud said firmly, eyeing his pup with a serious look.

"Fine, fine…" Tidus turned and swiftly swam off to find Sora. Why did _he_ have to find him anyway? What was this big announcement? Tidus glided along, letting the undersea currents do most of the work. He didn't really feel like swimming right now. Why did Sora have to be so difficult? It wasn't enough he always got himself into loads of trouble, he had to pull Tidus along with him, even if the blonde pup was nowhere around him. Well, it wouldn't do to complain about it now, but Tidus resolved to give his brother a good talking to when he found him.

After searching almost all of Sora's sulking spots (he had quite a few), Tidus was rounding on the last one, a small hole that led to a cave in which the brunette went whenever he didn't want to be found. It was supposed to be secret, but Tidus had known about it for some time, following his brother out here one time but he never let Sora know he knew about it. Tidus moved to see if the spiky haired brunette was inside and then drag him back home; Sora would be mad that Tidus knew about it, but orders are orders, and he didn't want to get on Cloud's bad side.

Just as he is about to swim over, the sight of another merboy caused him to stop short. He slid into some nearby seaweed to hide. It was Riku! What was that Slaptail doing here? He watched as Riku slid easily into the cave and he then swam over to see what was going on. He floats to the top of the cave, just a little away from the opening to watch without being seen.

"So this is where you swam off to."

Sora seemed to jump out of his fin, he was so startled. "Riku?" He looked around nervously. "What…are you doing here?"

"I followed you." Riku shrugged, swimming over to where Sora was. "I wasn't finished talking to you. You swam off so fast."

"W-well…uh…"

"It's okay if you're nervous. You're still young." Riku swam lazily around the small space on his back, his arms behind his head.

"I am NOT!" Sora bristled. "Who are you to say if someone's young or not? You don't look any older then I am!"

"I'm a cycle older."

"Big deal!"

"Well, yeah." Riku gave Sora a big grin. "I wasn't coddled like you were, pup."

"I've seen more then you." Sora challenged. "I migrate, you don't!"

"You sure don't act like it." Riku quipped, smirking. "You're such a little innocent, swimming off like that after I told you I wanted you to be my Daisuki."

"Just…shut up! You wouldn't understand, anyway!"

"Oh, I understand alright." Riku rolled his eyes. "It's okay, though. I'll help you get over the jitters."

"That isn't it!" Sora hissed, angry now. Riku only chuckled softly and swam over close to Sora, reaching out to pull him into his arms. Eyes wide, Sora pulls back to avoid the Slaptail's hands.

"W-what are you doing?!?" Sora stammered.

"I'm going to show you there's nothing to be afraid of."

"No you're not!" Sora said shrilly, almost on the verge of panic. "Stay away from me!"

"Stop acting like a newborn pup, and come here." Riku laughed, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

Still watching, Tidus was fuming. What did that Slaptail mean, making Sora his Daisuki? What did he mean by that…that…whatever it was he was trying to do to Sora? Whatever it was, he was going to stop it. Tidus flicked a fin to enter the alcove, but a shadow passed over him, catching his attention. He looked up and over his shoulder hesitantly, his instincts suddenly very wary, and then he caught the light underbelly of a merperson. A merperson with long silver hair and whose fin was covered in small, sharp scales.

A Razorfin…

"Leon! Yo! Head's up, big shot leader guy!"

The muscles in Leon's shoulder tensed at the sound of a cocky, feminine voice behind him. Turning, he spots a member of his pack, a young female Slaptail just barely out of puphood with short, dark brown hair. Leon crossed his arms as he regarded the Slaptail he had chosen to succeed him as pack leader when he is gone.

"Yuffie."

"Why is it so hard to find you when it's important?" Yuffie complained as she pulled alongside Leon.

"What happened?"

"A Razorfin was spotted in the area near the temporary Dorsalback habitat." Yuffie said seriously. "I know Dorsalbacks can take care of themselves when it comes to Razorfins-"

"Then why are you bothering me?" Leon interrupted, his eyes chilly. "There's no reason for us to butt in. They won't appreciate it anyway."

"But Leon…" Yuffie argued, gesturing to emphasize how important her message was; "This Razorfin is described as having long white hair and almost as pale skin-" Yuffie cut herself off as Leon turned and swam away at full speed. She rushed to catch up, concerned. "Hey! Leon, what-"

"Get the pack, now!" Leon hissed. "Go!" Yuffie turned and swam off to do as he ordered.

A Razorfin was no trouble for a Dorsalback community, it was true. They could easily turn one away; even kill one, if they wanted to. _This_ Razorfin, however…

This one made everything different.

He was a legend, the mighty Razorfin, Sephiroth. He was different from the other Razorfins, he wasn't cowardly in the least, he was clever and patient, going after the older pups that liked to explore away from protective eyes. Not only was he faster then even most of his own kind, but he had been known to outmuscle a Slaptail, the strongest merpeople under the seas. He and his kind are one of the reasons Dorsalbacks migrated like they did, Dorsalback pups like to play and explore, and often swim far from their habitat. Not wanting to limit their spirited young, the Dorsalbacks migrated to stay out of the Razorfin's way.

Leon had more then these reasons to hate this Razorfin however. He has a personal grudge against Sephiroth; the malicious Razorfin was responsible for turning his life for the worse in his younger turns. Yet, he didn't want revenge. What he wanted was to make sure it did not happen again. So first, he would warn Cloud and his community, mostly to keep them from interfering, and then he and Tsunami will drive Sephiroth out of the area for good.

With a sharp cry, Tidus swam into the hole, startling both merboys.

"Tidus?" Sora said sounding surprised and relieved at the same time.

"Kelp." Riku snorted. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"R-Razorfin!" Tidus cried, panicked. "There's a Razorfin out there!"

"A _WHAT_?!?" Sora's eyes grew wide with fear.

"Sora! Tidus! Look out!" Riku pulled both Dorsalbacks from the entrance as a pale-skinned Razorfin glided into the cave, a predatory grin on his face as he took in the three potential meals before him. They didn't have much time to formulate some sort of plan, the Razorfin shot toward them with an attempt to catch them off guard.

Luckily, Sora wasn't taken in, the swift little Dorsalback pulled his brother toward the entrance when they scattered wildly, pushing him through. The Razorfin then decided to target Sora, reaching for him and scaring him away from the entrance. Sora held the dangerous merman's attention, trying to create an opportunity for Riku to escape.

"Riku!" Sora cried to the silver haired merboy as he dodged his attacker's claws. "Get out! Quick!" He pushed off a wall, dodging again. Strong arms then circle around him, and Riku was pulling him close to his body, delivering a powerful swat to the Razorfin's head using every ounce of strength he had in his black and white fin. The Razorfin reeled from the blow, and Riku pulled himself and Sora from the cave to where Tidus was still waiting.

"Why are you still here, you idiot!" Riku hissed, still holding on to a very frightened Sora. "Get going! Now!" Riku pushes Tidus with one hand, still holding Sora with the other. The blonde Dorsalback swims off, a high-pitched wail issuing forth from his throat. Riku recognized this as a pup's call for his parents. Still tucked into his protective embrace, Sora echoed the call, and letting go of his pride, Riku does the same. There is no way he could fend off a Razorfin by himself. Sora and Tidus's community was nearby, so help would come quickly.

"Riku!" Sora hissed, pulling Riku's attention to what was going on behind him. The Razorfin had not given up on them, and was pulling up to them quickly. Riku released Sora and prepared to attack again as he had before, but the Razorfin was ready for him this time. He pulled back slightly, catching Riku's fin in his clawed hand and yanking the merboy toward him, using his other hand to grab his prey's neck. Riku gasps, unable to breathe, trying to pull away the hand that threatens to crush his neck. The Razorfin laughs at his struggles, squeezing tighter until a rock about the size of a fist slammed into the back of his head. With an angry snarl the Razorfin turns, just in time to see Sora using his tail to whack another rock his way. He dodged, releasing Riku to go after this new annoyance, murder in his aqua eyes. Riku coughs and sputters, trying to gain the strength to turn the Razorfin's attention away from Sora.

However, before the predator could reach the merboy, he was knocked off course by a merman's powerful charge. They grappled for a moment, and Riku was able to recover and reach for Sora, trying to get the Dorsalback pup to leave. Sora pushed against Riku, resisting the Slaptail's attempt to move them to safety.

"Cloud!"

"Sora, we can't stay here!" Riku pleaded with him. Sora shook his head of auburn spikes and struggled to pull free. With a soft curse, Riku used his superior strength to force Sora away, ignoring the mournful call the Dorsalback gave as he continued to try and pull away form Riku. "Sora, please…he'll be alright…we have to go!"

The Dorsalback sagged in his arms, and Riku turns them both to swim away, but Sora broke free without warning and doubled back toward the two wrestling mermen.

"Sora!" Riku called after him, angry that the other merboy had tricked him. Before the small brunette could get far, however, he was stopped by Leon who swam ahead of him, cutting him off.

"Move, Leon! I have to help-"

Sora's angry demand was cut short when Leon reached out and clamped a hand roughly on the area between Sora's neck and shoulder, using a thumb to briefly stop the flow of blood in a vein somewhere in his neck. Sora's eyes widen in shock a second before he blacked out and fell toward the ocean floor. Riku caught him, glaring at his pack leader.

"What did you do to him?!"

"He's fine. He's just sleeping. Get him out of here, Riku." Leon turns, trusting Riku to do as he ordered. "The rest of the pack is on its way. We'll handle this."

A ways away from them, Cloud was still struggling with the Razorfin, trying to keep its teeth and claws away from him till the community could come to help.

He hadn't been too far when he had heard Tidus's call for him, a call echoed by Sora and one other pup. He had swum off into the direction of their cries, Tidus nearly bowling him over, eyes wide with fear and almost unable to convey to him what had happened. Cloud sent him to get the community while he himself swam to the aid of his other pup, praying he was not too late. When he arrived there was no time to be relieved, he simply charged, his only thought to protect his pup from being devoured by the Razorfin after him.

Cloud cried out as one of his arms was twisted back painfully, and he was pulled back against a strong chest and then pinned by a powerful arm. A hand grabbed him firmly around the neck, just under his jaw, but Cloud found he could still breathe as long as he didn't struggle.

"It's been awhile Cloud..."

Cloud froze, recognizing the voice, trying to twist to see whom he had been fighting. He had been so caught up in trying to protect his pup he hadn't noticed…

"Sephiroth?" He said in a voice filled with awe. It wasn't possible, how could he be here? Last time he had seen him, he was being chased off by his community _and_ the Slaptails, over fifteen cycles ago.

"Yes, it's me…Daisuki." The hand around his throat loosened, but did not let go. "You've grown. I'm impressed."

Cloud again tried to turn in the Razorfin's arms, but all it did was make those arms tighten around him. "How…? How are you here? I thought…"

"You believed those fools who said they drove me off? I'm disappointed, Cloud." Sephiroth nuzzled Cloud's neck affectionately. "No, I was looking for you. I looked for you for cycles…and now I've found you. You're grown now, able to leave the community. Able to come with me…" Before Cloud could reply, Sephiroth's head jerked up, his arms tightening around Cloud again. His eyes narrow as another merman swam up.

"Let him go, Sephiroth." Leon's steel-blue eyes burn into Sephiroth's aqua.

"And why should I, Slaptail?" Sephiroth smiles evenly. "It's not for any of you to say what happens to him anymore, is it? There's no one for you to run and tell, no one with the right to pull him away from me."

"…Do as he says, Sephiroth." Cloud said softly, lowering his head.

"Daisuki?" Sephiroth questions, looking at Cloud in confusion.

"My community is on their way, and I'm sure Leon wouldn't challenge you alone. Tsunami must also be in the area. You attacked pups again, Sephiroth. They won't let you off easily this time. You had better go before they get here."

Sephiroth was silent for a while, eyes narrowing at Leon. "Very well." He said at length. "But I'll be back for you later." The last bit was said for Cloud's ears alone. Sephiroth released the blonde and swam away, leaving the two mermen behind in a tense silence. Several Slaptails appeared, and Leon pointed in the direction the Razorfin had swum off in, and they left without hesitation.

"You won't be able to catch him."

The words were not boastful, nor were they mocking. They were merely stating a fact. Leon looked back at him.

"You aren't thinking about leaving with him are you? You have a community and two pups who still need to be raised-"

"Spare me the lecture." Cloud hissed, looking up to glare at Leon. "This isn't about them and you know it. It's all about you, and your stupid jealousy!"

"Kelp, Cloud, he's a Razorfin! He _eats_ your kind. I'm trying to protect you! If not you, he'll go after someone else…like he did with your pups."

Cloud flinches and Leon sighs, shaking his head. "Cloud-"

"I know. I won't interfere with whatever it is you're doing…but I'm not going to help you either. He's my _Daisuki_, Leon. You don't understand what that means." Cloud moves to swim away, but Leon catches his arm.

"Actually, I do." After giving Cloud a look, he swims off to catch up to his pack. Cloud watches him go passively before turning to meet up with his community to tell them the danger was over.

"You'll never catch him, my Daisuki…"

Author's Nonsense:

Don't try this at home kids. You could really hurt someone.

We have reached the end of chapter four…finally. You have no idea how hard it was to get this chapter out. I just…lost inspiration. It happens, I guess. I could use a Beta, does anybody want the job? Send me an E-mail at _ if you do. Beta's not only get to see the fic before anyone else, but you also get a say in what happens. You also get permission to beat me over the head when I take too long updating. You **must** be good at proofreading and have a sense of humor as well as willing to beta my other fics._

Mostly I wanted to write more of my other fic, "When all things come back to you." If you haven't read it yet, please do. Don't forget to review! I didn't get as many reviews for either fic as I used to, and it made me very sad and that made me lazy. I suppose you want your choices hmm?

A) Kairi helps her father set up the "Mermaid Trap" (Pesky Humans…)

B) Sephiroth comes back for Cloud (Wow, don't you think that would be too soon, though?)

C) Sora and Riku have a 'lover's spat' (Even though they aren't that way yet. )

D) Tidus takes matters into his own flippers (What matters are those, I wonder?)

E) All of the above (For you **greedy** people out there who like to pick more then one choice! )

Well, there you go. I also have another announcement; I have started **a Kingdom Hearts RPG! **It's Kingdom Hearts without the Disneytm! We could use a few bad men, and a few good ones, so drop by the Destinys Hearts Yahoo group( _ ) and join! Looking forward to Rp-ing with ya! Time to work on chapter eight of "When all things come back to you" See you all soon! Don't forget to review!_

Ciao!


	5. Promise

_**Beginning of Chapter Five**_

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, yaoi fans everywhere would be the happiest people in the world._

_**Warning**: This fic has not been beta'd. _

_Sora: Riku got to do the warning twice, so it's only fair I get to, too!_

_Aoi Nikko: No one said you couldn't, Sora._

_Sora: No! It's not fair...eh?_

_Aoi Nikko: sigh Just go on and do it._

_Sora: Eh-heheheh...clears throat **This is a Shonen-ai. That means two boys are going to fall in love. If you don't like this kind of stuff, get out of the pool and go swim somewhere else.**_

_Aoi Nikko: This chapter is dedicated to Animegirl who listened to me gripe when I really needed it! I LOVE supportive fans! So here's to you, Animegirl! Thanks bunches!! Here we go, on to the fic!_

_**Chapter Five:**_

Promise

It had been an hour since the Razorfin attacked when Sora finally came to. He was lying on his side, his head propped up on something firm. Someone was stroking his hair soothingly, and Sora turned over on his back, eyes fluttering open, voicing a small groan as he did so. His cerulean eyes met tropical sea green.

"Whoa!" Sora bolted upright. He had been lying on a thick bed of seaweed, his head in Riku's lap.

"Are you feeling alright?" Riku looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Oog." Sora's head began to pound. What had happened? Sora remembered Cloud fighting a Razorfin, him trying to go and help and then Leon...

What the hell did Leon do to him?!

"Sora?"

The young Dorsalback turned toward Riku. "My head hurts. What in the sea happened to me?"

Riku placed his hands on Sora's shoulders and pulled him back down, covering his eyes to get him to close them. "You acted like a fool, trying to help Cloud fight that Razorfin. Luckily, Leon was able to stop you; although I'm not to thrilled on how he did it."

"What did he do? My head is pounding..."

"I don't know. Just take it easy for a little while, okay?"

"Where are we?" When Riku moved his hand, Sora peeped up at him. Riku's hands buried themselves in Sora's hair, massaging his scalp.

"We're in Slaptail territory, just within the borders of the main habitat. This is my Area."

"Oh..." Sora looked around as best as he could. An Area was a merperson's personal space, much like a bedroom. Riku's Area was a small, low cave with a large opening directly in front of them. Thick seaweed floated in that opening, disguising it and giving the space privacy. There was the seaweed bed they both were on, but the rest of the sea floor was covered with the shells of long dead shellfish, polished to a shine and placed to keep the sediment from being disturbed when anyone swam around. It was the nicest Area Sora had ever been in; since Dorsalbacks migrated as much as they did, no one bothered to keep one like this.

"When you feel better, I'll take you back home. Just rest for now."

Sora tried to sit up again. "Wait, Cloud-!"

"Leon and the rest of Tsunami were there to help Cloud out. He's fine." Riku assured him, firmly pressing Sora back down. "Worry about yourself right now."

Sora allowed Riku to push him back down and he closed his eyes when Riku began to stroke his hair again. "Thanks... for helping me back there." He mumbled softly.

"Well, you sure didn't make it easy for me." Riku sighed. "But it's okay. My Daisuki's safe and that's all that matters."

"Riku..." Sora rolled over on his side.

"Are you _still_ playing hard to get? I don't get it, Sora. Why are you so afraid of me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, we've just met!"

"And? That means nothing. I told you, choosing a Daisuki is not something that happens over a long period of time. You see someone and you suddenly want to be close to them, learn all about them. It's like...you don't even have a choice. It just happens, like destiny." Riku ran a finger down the back of Sora's neck, smiling a little when the little Dorsalback shivered slightly.

"Well I...I don't feel anything like that. You're better off finding someone else."

The silence that followed Sora's words weighed heavily in the small area. Riku's hands never stopped their gentle stroking of the Dorsalback's hair.

"I don't want to find someone else. I already told you, it's too late. I've chosen you as my Daisuki. It's _you_ I want."

Sora's cheeks turn pink and he jerks away from Riku. _Why do I feel this way? What exactly am I feeling...?_ "I already told you that's a bad idea. What will you do when I go on migration?" Sora sat a foot away from Riku, his back to the silver haired Slaptail. Riku inched closer, reaching a hand out to Sora.

"I told you, it's no big deal. You'll be back, I'll wait."

"What if I don't come back for cycles? What then?"

Riku smiled gently at Sora's back. "I told you. I'll wait." His hand touches the brunette's shoulder. "I can wait forever if I have to."

"Well, what if I can't?" Sora gritted out. The hand touching his shoulder fell away. "What if _I_ don't want a Daisuki I can't see all the time? When do _my_ feelings matter?"

"Sora-"

"I don't think you've thought this all the way through, Riku." Sora turned to look at Riku, and the Slaptail's jaw fell slack in shock at Sora's words. "If you were serious about this at all, you would have realized all the trouble this would cause and left it alone. When you realized how I felt about it, you would have left me alone." Sora floated upwards a little and flicked his fin to exit the small cave, leaving a stunned Riku behind.

He hadn't gotten very far, however, when a hand grabbed him around the base of his fin and pulled him backward. Sora gave a little yelp and Riku grabbed his arms, glaring at him with angry eyes.

"No you don't. Don't you _dare_ try that with me. That 'If you love me you'll do what I say' snail slime doesn't work on me!"

"Riku, let me go!"

"Yes, Sora, I chose you as my Daisuki. Yes, your feelings matter to me." Riku's gaze lost some of its anger. "But...I'm not going to ignore mine, or suffer without a fight. Maybe you don't understand how powerful this thing is...but before you dismiss me, why don't _you_ consider _my_ feelings?"

"W-what?" Sora blinked. _Why won't he just leave me alone?_

"Can you at least do that for me? Don't insult me with empty excuses." Riku lifted Sora's face so he could look the other merboy in the eyes. "Help me understand. Tell me why you are so afraid of me... and the promise I made."

Sora's eyes scrunched in confusion. "What promise?"

Riku let Sora go his eyes wide with disbelief. After a moment understanding set in and he began to laugh. Sora pouted at him, which caused the Slaptail to laugh harder. Sora turned away with an angry huff.

"I don't see what's so funny."

Riku pulled him into his arms, ignoring the immediate protests and struggles. "You are so adorable. You don't fully understand what a Daisuki is, do you? No wonder you're so scared!"

"Of course I know what I Daisuki is! It's a-"

"You know the _definition_, but you don't understand what it _means_. But that's okay, not many do." Riku released Sora long enough to swim around to face him and take his face in his hands. "Sora, I named you my Daisuki. That means that no matter what happens, no matter what you or anyone else does, I will always be there. I will always be at your side. In other words, Sora... I will never leave you."

"Riku..."

"My choosing you has nothing to do with your feelings, it's all about my promise to you. Even if you ultimately decide I am not your Daisuki, I will still consider you mine. No matter what the future holds, you have a friend for life."

Sora's eyes grew sad. "But...but that doesn't seem fair to you..."

Riku only smiled at Sora gently. "Daisuki." He murmured, pulling the Dorsalback toward him gently. His eyes drifted closed as he pressed his lips to Sora's in a sweet and tender kiss.

_Oh, but this _is_ fair, my adorable Daisuki...just you wait and see..._

"Cloud!"

For the second time that day, Cloud found himself nearly bowled over by his blonde adopted pup, Tidus. He grasped the pup's shoulders and held him at arms length, studying the panicked look on his face.

"What's wrong, Tidus?"

"I can't find Sora anywhere! I looked for him and looked for him, but there's no sign of him! Cloud, what if...what if that Razorfin-"

"Stop that!" Cloud scolded, but his face was drained of all it's color. "Sora was fine when I got to him, and Tsunami chased Se- er, the Razorfin out of the area."

"Then where-"

"We'll look for him." Cloud interrupted gently. "The whole community will look. Don't worry, we'll find him."

Tidus followed behind Cloud, worry still causing him to think the worst. Why did he leave Sora with that Slaptail anyway? The fool could have gotten his brother hurt or killed or-

Waaaaaiiiit a second!

"Cloud?" Tidus called, his voice strained.

"What is it Tidus?"

"The Slaptails would have been the last to have seen him, right?"

Cloud stopped and looked at Tidus. "Yes, there was a Slaptail pup that was pulling Sora out of the area..." And Leon was trying to put silly ideas like leaving the community into Sora's head... "He could be in the Slaptail's Habitat." Cloud's eyes narrow, this was completely unacceptable. They should have at least brought him home!

"We...should get the community to help look still, it's a big area." Tidus said, not wanting to admit he was afraid. He looked up to his adopted father, but Cloud had already swum off. He floated there a moment, wondering about what to do, before concern for his brother caused him to hurry after the older Dorsalback.

He stuck close to his father when they entered the Slaptail Habitat, trying to stay from underfin, but not allowing Cloud to get too far ahead.

"If you're scared, you should go back home." Cloud said gently. Tidus shook his head furiously.

"No! I'm worried about Sora." Tidus said stubbornly. Cloud shrugged.

"Well, okay, but if you're gonna help, look around here while I go find Leon. If you run into any trouble, swim home immediately, understand?"

"You're leaving me?" Tidus squeaked.

"You want to go deeper into Slaptail territory?"

Tidus shook his head. Oh, no, no, no...he certainly didn't want to do that. It was much safer here near the outskirts of their Habitat. Cloud nodded at him and began to swim off.

"If you see Sora, take him home."

"Yes, sir." Tidus said as Cloud swam away. He sighed and turned to begin to look for his brother. Just as he was about to call for him, his extremely sensitive ears picked up a faint sound.

"...doesn't work on me!"

Someone was shouting. What was going on? Like any other Dorsalback pup, Tidus was curious, and that curiosity made him momentarily forget his fears. He swam in the direction the sound came from, reaching a quiet area with a large rock surrounded by seaweed. Sudden laughter caused him to freeze.

"I don't see what's so funny."

That was Sora's voice! So he was here in Slaptail territory!

"You are so adorable. You don't fully understand what a Daisuki is, do you? No wonder you're so scared!"

Eh? That sounded like Riku...

Waitaminute...Riku?!? That Slaptail was trying to do something to Sora the last time they were alone together. He called Sora his Daisuki and tried to do something weird! Well, this time, Tidus would protect his brother from that perverted Slaptail. Tidus mustered up his courage and swam around the large rock...

...and gaped in horror at the sight of his precious brother in the arms of the hated Slaptail, who had his face pressed up against Sora's in a manner that was not acceptable at all.

"That...slimy little..." Tidus shook with rage and clenched his fists, fully prepared to swim over there and snatch his brother away from a fate worse then death.

"_TI-DUS!_"

WHAM!

Tidus found himself on the ocean floor, a young Tropi mermaid attached to his waist.

"Ohmygosh! Icantbelieveitsyou! IwasjustabouttogoaskRikuwhereyoulivedandhereyouare!" The Tropi said rapidly in her excitement.

"S-Selphie?" Tidus said, recognition sparking in his eyes.

"Yep! You remembered!" Selphie giggled and let Tidus up, dancing around him while she giggled at him. "What are _you_ doing here? Are you looking for me?"

"Er, no...I was looking for my brother, Sora." Tidus said, pointing.

Selphie's disappointed look only lasted till she saw the two merboys off in the distance. She blinked a couple of times before taking a huge, happy gasp.

"Ohhhhh! Wooooooow! Are they Daisuki's? Oh how romantic! We shouldn't disturb them!"

"This is not a good thing!" Tidus hissed. "That Slaptail is doing horrible things to my brother and I am going to stop it!" He went to swim over, but Selphie grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Nooooo! You can't! Don't disturb them! It isn't riiiiight!"

"Let me go! I have to rescue my brother!" Tidus growled.

"But if you try it that way, all you will do is make it worse! Daisuki's aren't something one can trifle with! The last time someone tried to interfere, it ended in disaster!"

Tidus stopped. "Disaster?"

Selphie nodded. "Yes. According to the leader of us Tropies, interfering with a Daisuki couple will bring misfortune. Sora could end up hating you!"

"Hating...?" Tidus frowns. "But...I can't just let that Slaptail do whatever he wants to my brother! There has to be some way I can stop him!"

Selphie pouted. "But they're so cute together, and Riku needs a friend..." She sighed. Tidus wasn't even listening to her. Maybe she should try to help Riku by enlightening Tidus? She grinned, it was a great idea!

"Hey! Why don't you come with me and talk to my leader?"

"What good would that do?" Tidus asked, angrily.

"My leader, Aerith, is the authority on Daisuki's. She knows _everything_ there is to know about them! She could help!"

"Hmmm...you might be right. If I knew more about what a Daisuki is, I might be able to separate them without making Sora hate me." Tidus nodded. "Right! That's what I'll do! Take me to meet Aerith!"

"Yay! Tidus is coming to my Habitat! Whee!" With that, Selphie grabbed on to Tidus's wrist and pulled him away, the blonde Dorsalback pup wondering if he had made a wise decision after all.

With a satisfied sigh, Wakka dropped the dishcloth on the counter and wandered out of the small kitchen to look for Cid. He found him still sitting out on the porch, finishing up _another_ cigarette.

"You smoke too much, you know?"

"Shut your damn yap kid. You finish the kitchen?"

"Ya."

"Good. Why don't you go play or something, and stop bothering me about my habits." Cid said gruffly, but he ruffled Wakka's hair affectionately.

"Ya, okay, just cut it out!" Wakka grabbed his shoes and put them on as he hopped down the steps. "I'll be back in time for dinner!"

"You better." Cid growled, but he was teasing. Wakka waved at him as he ran off down the beach.

"So what am I gonna do?" He wondered. He didn't feel like looking for the other kids, and he didn't want to go find Kairi and do some more spying. Wakka slowed down to a slow walk, kicking up sand as he placed his hands behind his head. Someone's long shadow fell across him, and he jumped in surprise.

"You look like you need some work to do." A calm and quiet voice said as a large hand came down upon his head.

"Aw, come on Auron, not more chores. I already cleaned the kitchen today!"

"You did?" Auron looked down at Wakka amused. "So you've already been home, hmm?"

"Ya, I had a report for Cid." Wakka grinned up at Auron from under his huge hand. "Uncle Shu almost caught a mermaid, but they cut the net and got away."

"Hmmm..." Auron said thoughtfully, taking his hand away.

That wasn't the response Wakka expected. "What's up?"

"I passed by Shu's house and there was quite a racket coming from his basement."

Wakka sighed. "I suppose you want me to go over there and find out what's going on, don't you?"

"If you don't mind. Go over and stay for dinner or something. Tell me what you see and hear." Auron said quietly, smiling at his adopted son's response.

"But I promised Cid I'd be home for dinner!" Wakka protested.

"Don't worry about Cid. You go do what I requested you to do. You're the only one he'll open up to."

"'Cause I'm a kid." Wakka said eyeing Auron. "You know, you and Cid are wrong, sending an innocent kid like me to do your dirty work."

Auron lifted an eyebrow at the statement. "You are _not _innocent, Wakka."

Wakka held up his hands. "Okay, I'll do it. _Someone_ has to protect the merpeople, ya?"

"Ya. Thank you, Wakka."

"Sure thing." With that, Wakka waved and ran off. Auron smiled and turned to continue on to the house.

"I told Cid to clean the kitchen." He muttered to himself. "I'll deal with him when I get home."

"Papa?" Kairi called down to where her father was working on who knows what in the basement. "Papa? Dinner's ready."

The only sound she heard was the hiss of the machines her father used in his undersea research. Kairi timidly edged downstairs, knowing Shu never liked to be bothered when he was seriously working.

"Papa?"

Shu jumped and turned around, holding a blowtorch. He turned it off and lifted the mask he had on to protect his eyes.

"Kairi, what are you doing here? I thought I told you not to come down here when I'm-"

"But mom sent me down to get you." Kairi interrupted. "Dinner's ready-" Kairi's eyes grew huge when she noticed the strange clear box that was behind Shu. "Papa, what is that?!?"

"Oh..." Shu turned around to place a gloved hand on the box. "I had an idea. This is my new trap."

"That clear box?"

"Well as soon as I waterproof it so it won't leak, it'll be ready. What I'll do is place it in the water and disguise it to look like a cave. When a mermaid goes inside, the door will snap shut, and we have our mermaid. I'm going to attach some hooks to it so when we catch one, all we have to do is attach some chains and pull it up."

"Wow! But...how will you get the door to shut when they go inside?"

Shu's smile faded. "I...haven't thought about that part yet. I'll think of something!"

"I could ask Wakka. He's learning about traps and stuff from uncle Cid. He'd be happy to help."

"Ah, that's a good idea. Couldn't ask Cid himself, the man has no head for science. Good thing his son is different, but then, he doesn't share his genes at all." Shu smiled. "Unlike Cid, the boy is actually pleasant. Nasty accent though."

Kairi giggled. "Oh papa."

"But anyway, we should probably go on and eat before your mother gets angry." Shu chuckles as he took off his mask, apron and gloves. Kairi turned back to the stairs, her father following her up. As soon as they went into the kitchen, the doorbell rang.

"Kairi, sweetie, can you get that?" Kairi's mother asked her. She looked at her husband. "_You_ go wash your face and hands!"

"I am not dirty!" Shu protested teasingly, trying to whine like a child. His wife whacked him playfully on the shoulder with her oven mitt and chased him from the room. Kairi giggled at them and ran to answer the door.

"Hello, welcome-_ohmygosh_!" Kairi squealed, frightening the boy standing on her doorstep. "Papa and I were just talking about you, Wakka!"

"Uh, only good things I hope..." Wakka said with a nervous laugh. "Hey, Cid and Auron are having another fight...you guys mind if I have dinner with you?" It was the one lie that never failed to get Wakka in Kairi's house for dinner on such short notice. Kairi's mother, being Cid's sister, knew how her brother was and never questioned Wakka's claim. In fact, she would always hustle him inside and mother him like she was sure he must really need.

"Aw, again? Well, I'm sure mom and papa won't mind. In fact, papa wants to talk to you!" Kairi dragged her cousin into the kitchen. "Mom! Wakka's going to eat with us again!"

"Hello Wakka." Kairi's mother said with a smile. She went over and gave him a big hug and kiss before pushing him toward the bathroom. "You know the drill, you're over here enough."

"Hello, Auntie." Wakka said. "Thanks for having me on such short notice."

"Nonsense. You're always welcome here. Go on and wash up so we can all eat."

"Ya, okay." Wakka walked toward the bathroom, only to run into Shu. "Hey, uncle Shu."

"Wakka! Just the boy I want to see. Here for dinner again, eh? Might as well live here." Shu chuckled and Wakka forced a smile. "Think you can stay a little while after dinner? I have something I want to ask you..."

Those fools in Tsunami thought they were so clever, thought they were so powerful. In reality, they were all fools that tried to stop the inevitable. No one could catch a Razorfin. No one, not even a mighty Slaptail, could ever hope to be able to stop _him_.

Not when it came to something he really wanted.

Sephiroth lazily navigated the waters of the Dorsalback Habitat, thinking of a way to approach his Daisuki, Cloud. It had been cycles since he had last seen him, yet it seemed like ages to him since he had been chased off by both the Slaptails _and_ the Dorsalbacks.

He and Cloud had both been young when they first met. The blonde had been exploring the perimeter of the Dorsalback's temporary Habitat, careful to obey the rules and stay within the actual boundaries. Sephiroth had just had a satisfying kill, so normally he would have ignored the slim pup, but there was something about him that made him interested in the curious bundle of energy near him. Sephiroth decided to watch him as a potential meal for later, yet, in the days that followed, he grew fond of Cloud, and kept putting off the time to chase and kill him, even though he had many chances to do so.

"Cloud...was always so alive. He was so curious and never afraid of anything." Sephiroth mused, his thoughts still in the past. "He was the first merperson that wasn't afraid of me, the first to offer me his trust."

When Sephiroth finally discovered what it was he was feeling, he thought the only way he could get what he wanted was to take it. After all, that was how all Razorfins lived. They took what they wanted, because no one would give it to them. Sephiroth chased Cloud down, caught him and dragged him beyond the safety of his Habitat. When it became clear the Dorsalback couldn't get free, he demanded to know what Sephiroth was going to do to him, his eyes defiant and unafraid. This only deepened the feelings the Razorfin had for Cloud, and his answer was very simple.

"_I mean to make you my Daisuki_."

Cloud didn't laugh, he didn't shrug him off and he never ridiculed him either. Instead, he agreed to spend some time with Sephiroth, just to see how he felt. All he asked was that Sephiroth let him see the _real_ him, so he could make an accurate decision. At first Sephiroth had no intention to do as Cloud asked, but at the steadfast look in those blue eyes, he had to agree. He had no choice _but_ to agree.

They began to meet regularly after that, and eventually, Cloud named Sephiroth his Daisuki. Sephiroth couldn't have been happier, and he made sure Cloud was happy too. His memories of Cloud afterward were full of the Dorsalback's happy, smiling face...

...Except for the very last memory he had of him.

Apparently, Sephiroth wasn't the only one who loved Cloud in that way. Another young Merman, Leon, discovered their secret. In his jealousy, he informed both the Dorsalback community and the Slaptail pack, and together they literally pulled them from each other's arms. Sephiroth wasn't going to allow himself to be so easily driven away, and he fought with all he had, but he couldn't stand up to so many, and he had to flee.

The last he had seen of Cloud, the pup was being restrained by Leon, the blonde's honest blue eyes filled with fear and sadness. His hated enemy had his arms wrapped around his Daisuki's waist; his own eyes filled with a hatred that went deeper then any he had ever seen. His innocent Cloud, his Daisuki, the only one he had to call his own...he wouldn't see him again for fifteen cycles.

Those fifteen cycles were pure hell for him. Sephiroth spent a cycle recovering from injuries and getting stronger; training for the day he would take Cloud back. Yet, when he was finally ready, the Community had moved on, and no one knew where. Sephiroth chased after them, following any lead he had, hunting down anything that dared cross him, even his own kind. He became feared by everyone, and he hoped the spread of his name would bring his Daisuki to find him.

But it never did. Cloud never came, and so Sephiroth continued to search. The years made him bitter and angry, and he came to hate the Dorsalbacks and Slaptails more then any other merperson. He began to hunt only them, and he didn't care at all how old or young they were.

Then one day, as he was chasing three pups, to of them Dorsalbacks, one a Slaptail, he finally came across Cloud. He was older and stronger, yet was still as beautiful as he was fifteen cycles ago. Finally, _finally _Sephiroth was able to hold Cloud in his arms again.

"And once again, that Slaptail interfered. Something must be done about him..." Sephiroth stopped as he saw the Dorsalback community swimming peacefully inside their Habitat.

"Just as soon as I eat."

_**Author's Nonsense: **_

_Snail Slime- Bullshit_

_Underfin- well, Merpeople don't have feet so..._

_Wow, finally chapter five, eh? It's been awhile, and I am very sorry for the delay. I got caught up in a contest and some horrid Riku/Sora writer's block. bows Gomen nasi, mina-chan! _

_So, was this chapter worth the wait? Probably not. As you can tell, everyone voted for everything! Bad readers, making more work for me! Bad! Anywho, I guess you want your choices, eh?_

_A) Wakka does a little sabotage. (AND meets a merperson!)_

_B) Tidus makes plans to rescue his brother (with a reluctant Selphie as a partner in crime)_

_C) Riku teaches Sora that there's nothing to be afraid of. (heh)_

_D) Cloud and Leon have a little...talk. (More like a screaming angst fit.) _

_There you go. Only four this time, you meanies. Don't forget to review! I have to run away and finish my one-shot, "Blue", and then start chapter nine and ten of "When all things come back to you". So, I will be a busy girl, don't you worry. Just remember, many reviews make me write faster, so review! Whelp, gotta go!_

_Ciao!_


	6. Conflicts

_**Beginning Chapter Six**_

_**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts is not mine. I'm only borrowing them for a little while. I promise to put them back only slightly traumatized._

_**Warning:** In my haste to put out this chapter after I have finished it, I did not have it beta'd._

_Wakka: Hey! I'm going to do the warning, so listen up, ya?_

_Aoi Nikko: Um, no one really reads the warning anyway, just say it so I can say it has been done, okay?_

_Wakka: It's kinda redundant, but whatever. **This is a Shonen-ai, so two guys are going to kiss an' stuff. If you are going to have a problem with this, maybe you should turn around and find a nice Sora/Kairi or something, ya?**_

_Aoi Nikko: EW! Sora/Kairi!_

_Wakka: Better they read that then flame._

_Aoi Nikko: Yes, because flames will be ridiculed. I'll put them on my Livejournal and let others make fun of it too!_

_Wakka: Can we start the fic now?_

_Aoi Nikko: In a sec, okay? This chapter is dedicated to my new friend WishUponAStar0d0! Thanks for the support, girl! This chapter would not have mad it if it were not for your much needed bugging! Thanks much! _

_Okay, all done! Enjoy everyone!_

_**Chapter Six:**_

Conflicts

The Tropi habitat was unlike anything Tidus had ever seen before. It was a huge forest of several different varieties of kelp and seaweed, the inside of which was more difficult to navigate then a maze. Tidus made sure he stayed very close to Selphie, seeing as though he did not want to get lost in there.

"So…um…where is your leader anyway?" The blonde Dorsalback asked as his guide wove gracefully around a monstrous seaweed plant.

"She'll probably be in bubble cluster eight." Selphie replied as she led Tidus further in. "That's her Area."

"Bubble cluster…wha…?" Tidus questioned.

Selphie giggled. "Bubble cluster eight. We give sections of the forest names so we can find places. It makes it easy for us to get around, but really hard for any of our enemies." The yellow finned mergirl slipped into a patch of seaweed that had tiny bubbles of air growing among its leaves. "Aaaaaand, here we are!"

Tidus pushed through the thick seaweed to enter into a small clearing. The water there was bright and very clear.

"Welcome."

Tidus turned to see an adult Tropi mermaid glide over toward them, her fin a delicate shade of pink. She smiled at him, her green eyes full of warmth and wisdom. "Oh, um…hi."

"Hello Aerith!" Selphie chirped happily. "I've brought a guest! His name is Tidus, and he's come to learn all about Daisuki's!"

"Oh, is that so?" Aerith tilted her head at Tidus. "Not very many come to see me about that anymore. So, who is the lucky merperson?"

Tidus shook his head. "My brother Sora." the blonde pup muttered, then immediately began sputtering at Aerith's curious gaze. "N-no, he's not mine! He's been chosen as someone else's Daisuki, that's what I mean!"

"Oh, I see." Aerith said with a laugh. "So your brother, Sora, was chosen to be someone's Daisuki. He's very lucky."

Selphie giggled and clapped her hands. "Sora was chosen by Riku! Isn't that great?"

Tidus's face told Aerith that he did not think it was great at all. She smiled a little to herself and floated downward to sit upon the sea floor, motioning for the two pups to do the same.

"Well, I can tell you all about the legend of the Daisuki, Tidus. This is a story that has been long forgotten by the many different clans of merfolk…only we Tropies, who love history, have kept it alive."

"So…merfolk have been choosing Daisuki's for a long time?" Tidus asked.

"Oh, yes…" Aerith answered. "For tens of thousands of years…"

Cloud swam into the very heart of the Slaptail's habitat, ignoring the gazes he attracted along the way. He knew how this must look, a lone Dorsalback entering into the dreaded Slaptail's domain. Snorting to himself, he steeled his expression into one of calm indifference, even though he was boiling inside. They would not know how he felt, he wouldn't let them try and intimidate him.

Cloud kept his eyes open for both Sora and Leon, even though he really only wanted to find the former. However, Leon would know where his pup was, so if he found Leon, he would soon know where Sora was as well.

"D'ya need something, Dorsalback?"

Cloud looked over to see a dark-haired Slaptail female staring at him with her arms crossed. He stared right back, giving her his frostiest glare.

"I'm looking for Leon."

"He's not here. I'm in charge with him gone, so you'll have to make do with me."

Cloud snorted. "Sorry pup." He turned to swim away. "It has to be Leon."

"My _name_ is Yuffie!" The girl hissed. "I'm _nineteen_ cycles old, so I'm no pup! You'll deal with me or we'll escort you home, Dorsalback. You're trespassing in our territory, understand?"

"You go on and try it." Cloud hissed right back. "One of your members took one of my pups, and I'm not leaving until I get him back, do you understand _that_?"

"Yeah, right. There're no Dorsalback pups here. I'm gonna have to ask you to-"

"I don't want to have to call my community." Cloud narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I will, though, if I have to."

Yuffie's gaze falters a little; Leon would not like it if a fight between the Slaptails and Dorsalbacks happened while she was in charge. The Dorsalbacks would be a little dangerous too, with so few of their pups surviving. The fight would be a bloody one…

"…" But she did not want to let a Dorsalback intimidate her either.

"Your call, Slaptail." Cloud folded his arms across his chest, eyes still narrowed.

"Look, I don't know where your pup is, and Leon's not he-"

"I am now."

Cloud turned his head slightly to catch Leon in the corner of his eye. The leader of the Slaptails moved toward them, giving Yuffie a slight nod. She left them hurriedly; glad to leave the problem to Leon who could handle it better. Cloud immediately focused all of his anger on Leon, whirling on him before the brunette could say anything else.

"Where is my pup, Leon!" Cloud demanded. "Where's Sora?"

"I have no idea." Leon answered coolly. "He's not here."

"He has to be. I saw a member of your pack pulling him away from where Sephiroth and I were fighting!"

"That was Riku. I suppose he took Sora to his Area to let him rest."

Cloud paled. "Rest? From what?"

"Riku was trying to move him to safety, but being a clingy Dorsalback, he didn't want to leave you. I had to knock him out so he could be moved."

"You…what?" Cloud could practically feel his blood boiling.

"I used a pressure point in his neck; don't worry, he's fine."

"You…" Cloud shook with anger. "…Spawn of a sea slug!"

"Listen, I saved your pup's life." Leon growled, growing angry. "I saved him from interfering and possibly being eaten by your _Daisuki_."

Cloud stiffened, blue eyes smoldering. "Where is Riku?"

Leon pointed south of where they are now. "Just inside the main habitat." He had barely finished speaking when Cloud swam off in that direction as fast as his fins would carry him.

Yuffie inched over to him, staring in the direction Cloud had left. "What was that all about?"

"Don't worry about it." Leon replied, turning to follow. "Stay here." He swam off, calling Cloud's name to try and get his attention. The Dorsalback ignored him for a while, and then finally slowed down long enough for Leon to catch up when it became clear the Slaptail was not giving up.

"What? I'm in a hurry, I'd like to get Sora home quickly."

"I request that Sora be left here with my pack." Leon said without preamble. Cloud shook his head, turning away.

"Not this again. Request all you want, Sora is not staying with you. In fact, as soon as I get him home, the entire community is going to prepare to move on. We'll only be here another few days."

"What?" Leon frowned, digesting Cloud's words.

"Because of all the problems here, with you trying to take what few pups we have and Sephiroth's reappearance, it is unlikely that we will stop here again." Cloud turned away to leave again, but Leon stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, Cloud-"

"What!" Cloud snapped, pulling away from Leon. "What do you want? Haven't you done enough already?" Cloud was well aware that he was acting foolish, but he did not care. He was furious, how dare Leon demand something as precious as one of his pups? How dare he attempt to take away one of the most important merpeople in his life? "Sora is _my_ pup, Leon, _mine_! When his parents died, I was the one who raised him! Do you really think I will just hand him over to you, so he can _die_ like his father did?"

"I won't let him-"

"Why do you even want him?" Cloud demanded, speaking over Leon. "You can't want to raise him because you love him! You only want to use the abilities he has as a Dorsalback for your own gain! You're sick, and I don't want Sora anywhere near you!"

"Now you wait a minute! None of that is true! I want to finish raising Sora because that's what Gou would have wanted! Gou would have wanted for Sora to avenge his death!"

"So now Sora's a dead merman's tool for revenge?" Cloud asked, becoming even angrier. "Snail slime! His mother wouldn't want that. She would want her son to live, to be happy. _I_ want him to be happy. I will not see him be used in some sick vendetta against the humans!"

"The humans _are_ a threat Cloud!" Leon spat. "Even you can't ignore that!"

"I know they are a threat!" Cloud took an angry breath. "But I'm not so caught up in revenge that I would send a pup to his death!"

"Sora belongs with my pack!" Leon snarled. "Even in the brief time that I have known him, I can see that he is almost exactly like his father. Gou was happiest with Tsunami, you can't deny that!"

"_Sora is not his father_! You haven't known him long enough to make that observation! Sora is a Dorsalback; he has been raised as a Dorsalback. There is no way you could finish raising him, and I will be put on display in a human's tank before I see him turn out like _you_!"

"As if you're any better? Having him abandon all common sense and choosing a Razorfin as a Daisuki would make you happy?" Leon snarled, not caring if he was losing his temper.

"How dare you!" Cloud said, his voice low and dangerous. "That has nothing to do with my ability to raise Sora!"

"I say it does! After all, if you have no common sense, how can you teach a pup to use his?"

"No one can control who their Daisuki is, Leon!" Cloud spat. "And I see it is necessary to remind you that after that incident where we were split apart, I never sought him out, and tried to forget him. I knew we couldn't be together."

"That didn't stop you from naming him your Daisuki."

"Yes, that's true, but at least I didn't choose a Daisuki that hated the very water I swam in."

"Better that then someone who is a danger to myself and my community." Leon said calmly. "This isn't over, Cloud. I'll see Sora in my pack, and there is nothing you will be able to do to stop me."

"First Sephiroth, and now Sora, dried kelp on a black beach, Leon, when will you tire of taking away the people I love most? Who's next, Tidus? Are you going to take both of my pups away from me? Why don't you just take that human weapon of yours and just kill me?"

"…"

"The Daisuki I have named my own…I can not have. Sora and Tidus are the only things filling that void, and I will use my last breath to kill you if you even glance in their direction!"

Leon froze, staring at Cloud who stared back, his expression full of both pain and anger, but it was mostly pain. His heart twisted painfully in his chest, but his feelings never reached his eyes. Cloud lifted his chin and turned away to collect his pup and go home.

"Cloud-"

"Discussion ended, Leon. No, you cannot take Sora."

"Cloud!"

"I said no, Leon!" Cloud spat from over his shoulder. "Gou was found and raised by Slaptails at a very young age, and even then it was a miracle that he survived. Sora has been with my community for fourteen cycles. To ask him to leave the people who love him to live with someone who sees him as a weapon…is just cruel."

"No, wait, I just wanted to…"

…_Apologize_….

Cloud had already left. Leon sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Nothing ever went the way he wanted it to when it came to Cloud…

Carefully stalking his prey, Sephiroth's sea green eyes narrow and he carefully swam along a large rock, careful to stay out of sight. He did not want the pretty, dark haired Dorsalback female to see or hear him, because as close as they were to the rest of the community, help would come fast. Sephiroth did not want to be chased away empty handed.

Just as he was about to make his move, another Dorsalback swam up, calling softly. Sephiroth pulled back into his hiding spot, cursing under his breath. Well, maybe the newcomer would be brief and leave so he could make his kill and go look for Cloud.

"Have you seen the leader?" The newcomer asked, tilting her head of blonde hair to the side.

"No, I haven't seen Cloud since he left to find little Sora."

Sephiroth took a breath. Cloud was the Dorsalback leader? If so he wouldn't be happy if the silver haired Razorfin ate one of his community. Sephiroth immediately began to consider other options. He could always wait for the Slaptails to go and 'patrol'…

"Where did he go? Was Tidus with him?"

"Oh, yes. They went off toward the Slaptail's habitat; I believe Cloud thinks Sora might be there."

Listening, Sephiroth curls his lips into a smile. This just might be exactly what he needed to have a little revenge… Sora is in the Slaptail's camp and Cloud has gone to find him. What would happen if Sora got hurt while in their habitat? Tsunami's reputation would worsen. No one would think of them as brave heroes, no one would trust them anymore, and that would give Sephiroth a much easier time in moving around this area…

Turning sharply around, Sephiroth swiftly left for the Slaptail habitat, his hunger forgotten…

…for the moment.

"Well, that was a very good dinner, thank you dear." Shu sighed as he wiped his hands with his napkin.

"Yes, thanks mom!" Kairi said brightly. Kairi's mother smiled as she stood to collect the plates.

"If that's so, who will volunteer to help with the dishes?"

Kairi and Shu both fell silent, and Wakka rolled his eyes. "I'll do it, auntie."

"Now, hold on there, my boy, remember I needed to speak with you…"

"Hey, that's cool. We can both talk and clean up for auntie. I'm sure she would love to have a rest once in a while." Wakka said, lifting an eyebrow.

"My, my, my…how sweet! Now I'm sorry it was my brother who adopted you!"

"Wakka…" Shu groaned.

"Come on, I gotta pay you guys back for letting me eat over here so much _somehow_."

"Suckering me into housework isn't the way to do it." Shu shook his head and sighed. "Well, let's get to it."

"Thank you dears!" Kairi's mother smiled, sitting down at the table again and letting Wakka and Shu collect the rest of the dishes. Wakka began running hot water in the sink, adding liquid soap so he could better wash the dishes as Shu brought them over. Kairi leapt from her seat, grabbing a dishtowel.

"I call drying and putting away!" She giggled. "That means you have to clean the table, stove, counters and sweep the floor, papa!"

Shu sighed heavily, and shook his head. "Oh, fine." He dumped the dishes into the sink, spattering Wakka with soapy water. Wakka grumbled a bit, but said nothing. He grabbed the dishrag and set to his task.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Ah, yes!" Shu brightened, forgetting all about what he was supposed to be doing and leaning against the counter nearest Wakka. "I have just had a wonderful idea for trapping a mermaid. You see I have put together a clear box that I will camouflage to look like a cave and submerge into the water. A small radio will alert me when a mermaid has been caught, but the problem is the door."

"The…door?" Wakka asked. Oh, this did not look good at all.

"Yes, see, I need a way for the door to shut, trapping the mermaid inside, but the door can't be seen, understand?"

"We figured we'd ask you since you have been learning all about traps and stuff from uncle Cid." Kairi smiled, nudging Wakka. "You said you're on our side, now's your chance to help!"

"Yeah, but I was learnin' so I could become a fisherman…I don't know how I could help…"

"Well, mermaids _are_ fish." Kairi reasoned. "Really big fish, but they are only fish. What kind of trap would you set to catch a _really big fish_?"

"They're smarter then fish." Wakka frowns. "It's not that easy, ya?"

"Yes, you're right." Shu nodded. "They are much smarter then fish. They are clever and resourceful, but we don't know exactly _how _resourceful. That's why I need to catch one, so I can find out more…"

"W-well…" Wakka stammered, trying to think quickly, "Uh, maybe I should ask my da? I mean, he knows much more then I do…"

"Aw, come on Wakka? Do you really think he'll tell you so you can ask us?" Kairi groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I must agree. I don't want your fathers knowing you are helping us. It might get rather tense for you, and Cid might forbid you from coming over here again. You know how he gets."

"Yeah…" Wakka said, growing more worried by the minute. How could he get out of this? If he refused to help, Shu and Kairi might never trust him again, but if he did help, not only would he be endangering the merfolk, but his fathers would both kill him! Maybe…he could suggest something that was faulty…but only subtlety so. That way there was a possibility the merperson could escape.

"A sliding door is no good…" Shu said, reasoning as Wakka thought. "They would notice the door.

"Well, there's always a door that snaps shut from the front." Wakka suggested slowly. He lifts a glass from the sink and held it sideways to demonstrate. "See, when opened, the door would lie on the seafloor, and you could disguise it with sediment. When a mermaid goes inside, she could trigger a rope or something that would cause the door to slam shut like this…" Wakka placed the glass on his arm, near his wrist and snapped his hand over the rim of the glass. "…and you have your mermaid."

"Hmm…" Shu mused over the idea. "Yes, that just might work…I'll get started on it tonight."

"Do you, uh, need any help?" Wakka asked, praying Shu did. Then he would really be able to sabotage the trap.

"No, I can't have you down there with me, I'll be using all sorts of dangerous equipment, and if you got hurt, your fathers would kill me." Shu ruffled Wakka's hair, taking the nervous look on the boy's face for disappointment. "But you can help me set it up. I hear you are a good diver."

"W-well ya…"

"Wonderful. We'll do that then!" Shu pushed off the sink to let Wakka finish his task, grabbing a nearby sponge and wetting it so he could wipe down the table and counters.

Wakka sighed heavily. This was quite a mess, but the door he suggested did have a very big, but very subtle flaw. With the door on the seafloor, disguised with sediment, there was a chance that it would close slowly enough for the merperson to realize what was going on and be able to, at the very least, keep the door from closing and sealing. Cid had told him that merpeople were insanely strong compared to humans, so as long as the door didn't seal, they would have a chance to escape.

Wakka began to work quickly so he could run home and tell his fathers what was going on. Then they could plan what they were going to do next…as long as Cid didn't kill him first.

Choosing a Daisuki was, without a doubt, the most important decision in a merperson's life. Some rarely chose because of how life-altering it was, after all, they were choosing someone who they would put before anything else, including their own life. If the feelings were not reciprocated, a merperson always slipped into depression, and depression could kill a merperson unless they were strong enough to find something to dedicate themselves to.

Really, one was better off not choosing at all, or that was how Sora felt about it. He remembered asking Cloud about Daisuki's, and poor Cloud had nearly gone to pieces trying to tell him. Cloud never said a word against the concept, but it was how his adopted father acted that stuck out in the young Dorsalback's mind, rather then his words.

A Daisuki was a beautiful, but utterly terrifying thing…

But…oh, how exhilarating it felt to know someone loved you above all else! It left a warm tingle that spread throughout Sora's body…or was that from the sweet pressure of Riku's lips upon his own? Sora had no idea. Whichever it was, it felt very nice, and that was why Sora did not pull away. That was why he did not _want_ to pull away.

Realizing that Sora was not pulling away, Riku became so happy he wanted to laugh. Instead, he sighed happily into the kiss, increasing the pressure of his lips, trying to get more of the sweetness that was Sora, his energetic and very shy Daisuki…

Sora melted into the kiss, giving Riku what he wanted, feeling very giddy inside. This wasn't what he had expected at all... this was actually really enjoyable. Despite how aggravating and egotistical Riku could be at times, Sora realized he would miss him when he left on migration.

Kelp, migration!

Sora wrenched away from Riku, heart twisting a little at the disappointed sound the Slaptail made. "Riku, wait…ack! I said wait!" Sora squealed when the aqua-eyed merboy tried to grab him again.

Riku gave Sora a pleading look and tried to pull him into his arms again. "Why?"

Sora placed his hands on Riku's shoulders and pushed his upper body as far away as he could to avoid the older merboy's kisses. "Riku, please be serious for me for a second!"

With a sigh, Riku let go of Sora ad ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay."

"You're serious about me being your Daisuki, and I accept that, but…I'm leaving in a couple of turns…are you really going to just…wait?"

"Oh, I think I can get you to realize I'm your Daisuki by then." Riku moved to grab Sora again, but the little Dorsalback backed away, giving the Slaptail a sharp look.

"Riku."

Riku sighed. "Yes. I will do anything I have to. What do I have to do to get you to realize that?"

"But what if…what if you are my Daisuki? I don't think I can wait…"

"Not this argument again…"

"I'm serious! I've heard of what happens when you can't be with your Daisuki. I've seen the depression it causes, and I don't know if I'm strong enough to handle that or the guilt I'm going to feel knowing you're feeling the same way." Sora shook his head. "I've seen the strongest merman I know nearly break down just from me asking about Daisuki's."

Riku lifted both brows, suddenly understanding. This wasn't just a ploy of Sora's to get away from him; this was a real fear. He reached out and pulled Sora back into his arms, tucking his head into the brunette's shoulder.

"R-Riku!"

"Shh, I'm thinking." He mumbled into Sora's skin. "Holding you makes me think better."

Sora's cheeks colored. "No it doesn't, I bet you're not thinking about anything at-eep!" He stiffened as Riku dropped a hand to his dorsal fin and massaged the sensitive area with his thumb.

"Shh, you're interrupting me while I'm trying to think." He smirked at the tiny gasps Sora made as he continued to massage the brunette's dorsal fin. "That's better."

"R-Riku…I can't…think…when you do…that…"

"Hmmm, that's okay. I'll think for both of us." Riku moved his hand lower, pulling Sora tightly against him. He laughed at Sora's bright red face. "Stop being so cute, you're distracting me." Riku leaned up to place a kiss behind Sora's ear.

"You're distracting…oooh…"

Riku silenced Sora again by running his other hand along the brunette's back and nibbling gently on his neck. "How about this? You can stay with me. I'll hide you where no one can find you…"

"I…" Sora gave a loud gasp as Riku bit down possessively on his shoulder, barely hearing Riku's words. "I don't…ahh, Riku stop…" He moaned when Riku lowered his head to trail kisses down to his chest.

"Or we could both leave together…I like that idea…"

"I…I don't think that would…."

"SORA!"

At the sound of his name, Sora jerked away from Riku…or at least he tried to. Riku had him in a death grip, and was refusing to let him go.

"Riku, that's Cloud…"

"So?"

"Riku, he's looking for me, he must be worried… and what do you think he'll say if he finds us like this?"

Riku sighed, cuddling Sora close. "I don't care, but… I guess you do have to go with him."

"Yeah…I'm sorry." Sora inched his hands around Riku and hugged him, even as Cloud's calls came closer.

"Though…it must be nice to have people love you enough to worry about you."

Sora's eyes soften. "Oh, Riku…" That's right; Slaptails didn't care for their young like Dorsalbacks did. They were trained, not raised.

"You had better go." Riku said grudgingly, giving Sora's lips a quick peck. "See me again?"

"Sure thing. I'll meet you by the reef where I first met you."

Riku's heart leapt when Sora agreed to come see him. "I'll hunt you down if you don't show."

Sora laughed. "I'll be there, I promise." Riku let him go, and Sora swam off in the direction Cloud's voice was coming from, answering his father's call.

Riku watched with bittersweet feelings. He had put up a brave face, but he was secretly very frightened of the thought of Sora going on migration. He would indeed wait for him to come back, but…the thought of letting him go and not being around him for long stretches of time…

Sighing, he decided to take a nap in his Area, but a clawed hand clamped over his mouth and strong arm pinned his arms at his sides. Riku immediately began thrashing his tail, but the merperson holding him dug his sharp claws into his skin and so the Slaptail pup fell still, understanding the threat.

"Well, well…it looks like I am a little late for my previous plan…but you just might help me come up with something better…"

Riku swallowed in fear. It was that Razorfin!

Sephiroth laughed as Riku trembled with fear. "So…you care for Cloud's pup, do you?"

Riku nodded hesitantly, wondering what it was that the Razorfin could possibly want with him if he was not going to eat him.

"Well then, I'll tell you what. You help me with my plans and not only will I let you live, but I will also help you with your little…problem…"

_**Author's Nonsense:**_

_Spawn of a sea slug – Son of a bitch_

_Dried kelp on a black beach – (very loosely) God fucking damn it_

_Wow, I've been gone for quite a long time, haven't I? I bet you thought I have given up on this fic. Well, sorry, the madness continues! _

_Anyway, if you read my other fic, you know why I haven't updated in a while. If not…you're out of luck! Heh! You'll have to go read it or visit my live journal to see why! Shameless_

_I guess you want your choices now, hmm? Well, I guess I can give them to you. However, in return for giving you power over what happens in this fic, you must review! I don't mean leaving a review with a choice or giving me a quick, "Very good, I choose C!" If you do that…you're vote will not count. Tell me what you liked or what you didn't like…both if possible. Yes, I'm greedy…I want to be able to write better fics for all of you, and only by having a good review will I be able to do that! Whelp, here's the choices:_

_A) Riku makes a deal with the devil (i.e. Sephiroth)_

_B) Sora tells Cloud about Riku (Drama? Maybe.)_

_C) Wakka meets a merperson (again, I get to choose who!)_

_D) Story time! (Everything you wanted to know about Daisuki's and Dorsalbacks but were afraid to ask!)_

_Just so you know…**I** really like the last choice…so there is a big possibility I might do that one anyway._

_Riku: You shouldn't have said anything, now they won't pick that one!_

_Eh, it doesn't matter. Anyway, it's your turn now! Review!_

_Riku: If you don't…Aoi just might forget all about this fic…_

_Heheheheheheh… and you wouldn't want that, now would you?_

_Riku: I don't know who's scarier, you or Sephiroth._

_ Heh…_

_Ciao everyone!_


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